Takishira Chornicles
by green.chan1
Summary: Takishira Tsubaki was just your typical ninja of Konaha until she ran into Akatsuki and is forced to join to protect her village. But when does it become for yourself instead of your home? Rated T for Language and Some Violence. Dei/OC
1. Ch 1: Takishira Tsubaki

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock, blaring in my ear. *_Alright, alright!! I'm up!_!* I pounded my clock to turn it off. I looked at the time groggily…It read 9:03 am. I was supposed to be in Hokage-sama's office at 9:15 am. "HOLY $#% I'M LATE!" I shouted. I got dressed as quickly as possible and rushed down the stairs.

"Takishira Tsubaki," My mother's voice made me turn around just as I was about to go through the door, "aren't you forgetting something?"

I sighed; of course, she always did this when I would leave. I kissed her on the cheek, "Love you, mom and don't worry, I'll be fine on the mission."

"I know, just be careful dear," she said warmly. Her expression was always very warm and gentle. Mom always worried about me after what happened during the chunin exams. I ran out the door, not even bothering to shut it. I didn't want to be late to see the Hokage…again. I dashed across the rooftops, since this was much faster than using the streets and less likely for me to run into someone…again.

When I reached the administration building, I rushed through the doors and ran as fast as I could into Hokage-sama's office, bumping in to an assistant or two along the way. "Am I late, Hokage-sama?" I asked, panting steadily.

"Tsubaki, it's not good for you to make it by only a thread," scolded Tsunade. All that matters to me is I made it. "Anyway, I need you to go to the Hidden Sand Village and give them support," she began "Their Kazekage was recently kidnapped by two of the Akatsuki. This has severely weakened the village, so I'm sending you to help protect it."

"What if I run into an Akatsuki?" I asked.

"If you can, flee and get help. That's the best option you have, and above all do **not **engage them in combat. There's no doubt you'll die."

I groaned, *_Great, another boring solo mission. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll see Sakura-chan. I haven't seen her in awhile.*_

"Tsunade-sama, why can't I be in the frontlines like Sakura-chan?" I complained.

"Tsubaki! Just accept your mission and fulfill your duty! Maybe then you'll get the good missions like Sakura," Tsunade ordered angrily. "Or…you could do some weeding again."

"Fine, Hokage-sama…," I submitted.

"By the way, how is she?" I asked making small talk.

"Don't think small talk will help you now, Tsubaki. Oh, and she's just fine."

***

I dashed through the forest, leaping from tree branch to tree branch. I reached to swing off of one but lost my grip and fell to the forest floor, hitting my head. I stood up shakily and clutched my head "Ouch…"

*_Why is it that I'm a chunin but am as much of a weakling as Naruto??_*I looked around the area. _*…Which way is west?* _I checked my map I had in my kunai pouch for directions. But just as I had unfolded it, a sudden gust blew it out of my hands! "Aw crap, come back!" I shouted as I chased the map. I jumped in the air and snatched the map! _*Gotcha!!*_

I looked around at my new surroundings and saw an old fire, still smoldering; a clear sign someone was here. I hid behind a tree and drew my kunai, for obvious reasons. There were two cloaks hanging on a low hanging branch, with had blood-red clouds on them…Akatsuki. I froze, I was supposed to call for help if I saw them, but no one was around! This was a fairly dangerous situation, so I slinked away as quietly as possible. Luckily no one seemed to be around to notice me.

An hour passed as I walked around in the quiet forest; the gentle sunlight peaked through the leaves and a light breeze ruffled my hair. It was a beautiful sight to behold. I had completely forgotten about the danger I was in earlier. "D#%IT TOBI!! Give me back my cloak, un!" a man cried in the distance, breaking the silence.

"You've gotta catch me first, sempai!" yelled another man's voice, his was very obnoxious and somewhat childish. The other's…well sounded quite handsome.

"GET BACK HERE, UN!!!" the other yelled. I could hear them running in my direction. I hid in the shrubs as fast as I could, and kept my kunai close. The two dashed past, not noticing me. I peeked from my hiding place. The first one had dark brown hair, and wore a bright orange hurricane mask (I don't know kinda looks like a lollipop) and wore an Akatsuki cloak. He had something in his hand, but I couldn't see what.

I looked over at the second one. He had long, blond hair bond high in a ponytail with a lock of hair covering his right eye. Well, I think it was a boy maybe a girl; I mean he had a man's voice. He looked around nineteen, maybe eighteen so he was only a year or two older than me. His eyes were a sky blue and looked like he might be wearing eyeliner.

*_I could follow them, but I really need to go to Sunagakure_* However, I never got to make my decision, because the masked guy ran right past me in the opposite direction, "NO SEMPAI!!! Tobi is a good boy!!!" he whined loudly to the other man. The other was chasing him on some kind of white bird! I wasn't quite sure though, it passed as only a blur. Whatever that was, it's flight made a strong gust that blew me out of my hiding place, right into the open. I tried to get up but the masked one, I think his name is Tobi, ran my way again and tripped and fell right on top of me! The blond one stopped in front of us, "Finally, now give me back my cloak, you little s#%!" he paused and stared straight at me with a surprised look on his face. "Who's the girl, un?" They had found me, if I didn't act soon, I'd be dead!

"So, what are you doing here, un?" he asked me smoothly. I was frozen at the spot. His calm demeanor was putting me on edge. *_What am I going to do? Oh god, oh god, oh god!_* I panicked so I did the first thing that came to mind, no matter how dumb it may be.

"Substitution Jutsu!" I said franticly after making the hand seals. I immediately disappeared, and a log was in my place. I reappeared far enough away from them to get a head start.

"…So, that girl is a ninja, un," the man said, "Tobi, out of the way."

"Yes Deidara-sempai!"

I dashed through the forest, that substitution would buy me time but not for long. I needed to get to water so my jutsu can work, but I had been careless and forgot to fill my canteen. I glanced behind me; the blond guy was close behind me on another one of his weird birds. I started to panic even more; if I don't to get to water soon……I dashed even faster. The blond Akatsuki put his hands into some khaki pouches he kept at his waist. He paused for a bit and threw three small sparrow statues in my direction. Then he made a focusing seal.

Then suddenly they came to life, and the statues came at me at an amazing speed, faster than he was flying on his! I avoided them as fast as I could, even though I had no idea what they did. My body was flowing with adrenaline; the only thought in my mind was to get away.

"KATSU!" the man shouted while he made a hand seal. The sparrows suddenly exploded behind me; my back took most of the blasts. I should've realized that they might be explosives. The hot pain surged throughout my body, as I lay on the damp forest floor. I reached for my back; it was bleeding a bit and badly burnt.

The river was just beyond the horizon, if I could get back up I could stand a chance! I stumbled to my feet and tried to run…but it only a stumble at the moment. Just as I picked enough speed to be considered walking, the blond man sunk behind me and hit my bloody back…hard. Everything went blurry as I fell to the soft ground. "Gotcha…, un,"

And then it went black.

6


	2. Ch 2: Arrival

I woke up in a dark cave. _*…W-Where am I?* _I looked around, but I couldn't see anyone or anything it was completely dark except for a few candles. I was bound tightly with ropes, so I couldn't make hand signs or even stand up on my own.

"Ah, so the Konaha ninja is finally awake…" a voice said. I whipped my head around looking for the body paired with that voice. I looked in front of me and saw a silhouette of a spiky-haired man. But…it was a projection like a ghost, not a person. The only part of him you could see clearly was his eyes. They had a strange ripple pattern to them…and were very intimidating.

"Who are you? Why do you have me here?" I asked, trying my best to hide the fear.

"I am the leader of the Akatsuki, my name is not very important at this time. By the way, it's painfully obvious you're frightened so don't even bother," the leader announced in his calm, monotone voice. I tensed; he must be far above a jounin, even without chakra sensory you could feel it. "So, I'm here to integrate you before Deidara kills you…Tell me about the Jirinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto," he announced.

"I will never betray Konaha! You can just burn in h*ll!" I shouted furiously in my newfound courage.

"Oh really, then why did you disobey orders just to play the hero?"

I averted my gaze. *_I really am a pathetic ninja…_*

"Just let me go, I'm useless to you anyway; because I will never give you information on Naruto-san!" I pleaded. "…for Sakura-chan." I added quietly. I knew how losing Naruto would hurt her…I didn't want her to know the same pain as me.

The leader ignored my pleas, "Deidara, you can dispose of the girl; she's obviously not going to cooperate with us…" he ordered the blond.

"Wait; I'll do anything, don't kill me!! I'll even join you!!!" I pleaded. The leader looked up, clearly a bit interested now.

"You will?" he asked, smirking a bit. He was clearly enjoying this. I however, was silent, appalled at what had left my lips.

*_Did I just say I'd join __**them**__?!?_*

"Well? I'm waiting for your response, girl," the leader taunted in his emotionless voice.

"I-I-I'll join you," I began shakily, "if you don't kill me o-or force any secrets about Konaha from me." The leader was quiet as he thought it over.

"You can't be a full member; you're much too weak. You can be an underling for one of our squads. So, who shall you work with?" the leader pondered. I was very nervous; I didn't trust any of them to keep our deal.

"I'll take her, un." I looked over to the blond man, the man who captured me. "I need at least someone more useful than Tobi, yeah." That's why he wanted me? That made me feel lousy; the conceited jerk!

"Then it's settled. You there, you will be partnered with Deidara, the blond, and Tobi, the one in the mask," the leader said, "By the way what is your name?"

"Takishira, Tsubaki."

"Well Takishira, Tsubaki, welcome to the Akatsuki."


	3. Ch 3: Will we ever get along?

I sat at our camp in front of the fire. My back still was in a lot of pain thanks to my new squad mate's bombs. "Hey, are you going to say anything or what, yeah?" Deidara mocked, "You might as well say something, you know." I remained silent, since I was still mad about what I agreed to earlier.

"Jesus, you're almost worse than Tobi, almost un." He was clearly annoyed with me. "So, you going to make yourself useful and cook, or what, un?" Deidara smirked. I perked up; one thing that pissed me off, those damned sexist comments.

"What did you say?" I muttered, preparing to rip his throat out.

"You gonna do your job or what, woman?" Deidara repeated.

I immediately stood up, and smacked him in the face, "YOU SEXIST SON OF A B****!!!" I shouted, "DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT, GOT IT?!!" He just sat there for a moment and stared at me.

"Wow, you are a real b**** aren't you, yeah?" he chuckled, "It's hilarious how pissed off you get, un." I stared at him for a while, seriously considering literally ripping his throat out. I turned around and pouted.

"You can eat dirt for all I care, jerk," I spat.

"Whatever, un."

***

I woke up the next morning. The grass was wet with dew; it sparkled in the morning sunlight. *_I still can't believe he said that._* I looked over at Deidara. His hair was slightly wet from the dew. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. *_Huh? Where is Tobi?_* I looked around, I didn't see him anywhere. "Good morning, Tsubaki-san!"

"WAH!!" I shouted as I fell over, "Jeez Tobi-san, you scared me," I admitted as I sat back up.

"Tobi brought new girl breakfast," Tobi said in his gleeful tone. He gave some rice balls which I accepted eagerly, "Thank you, Tobi-san." I took a bite of the food, which was about average. I didn't really care since I was really hungry.

"Deidara-sempai seems to really like you, new girl!" Tobi exclaimed, "He was really happy last night!"

I paused for a moment, "Tobi, I don't think he likes me," I worded out for him, "He was such a jerk. Why would someone say things like that if they wanted to hit on them?"

"You don't know Deidara-sempai very well. Trust me; Tobi knows when sempai likes someone." Tobi began, "Tobi knows, because Tobi is a good boy."

*_………what the h*ll?_* I took a bite of my food to keep me from saying anything to offend him.

"Oi, wake up Deidara; you've got a mission," said someone from behind us to Deidara.

I turned around to see the source of the voice and saw the strangest looking person I've ever met. He had pupilless, amber eyes with one-half of his face pure white, and the other black like the night sky. He also looked like he was part venus flytrap. I looked over to Deidara, who woke up at the man's command. "What now Zetsu? I was busy, un." he muttered groggily.

"You've got a mission from leader-sama."


	4. Ch 4: A New Mission

"A mission from leader-sama, un," Deidara smirked, "Well what is it?" I still couldn't stop staring at the plant thing-uh…man.

"So, that's your new subordinate, huh Deidara?" Zetsu asked, "Hopefully she'll be useful," said Zetsu, **"I think she'll get blown up in a week." **

"I think she might last a little longer than that," replied Zetsu to himself…**"She looks like a total weakling. Might make a good meal…"** he argued in his other voice. "Whatever, so you need to murder a pair of Anbu from Konaha," Zetsu began, "If they get any information, it could be trouble for our organization."

"Right, on it, Zetsu," Deidara muttered.

"Fine, I'm out."

"**Are you sure we can't eat her?"** his other half asked as he melted in the ground. Then as quick as he came he was left.

"He's a…um…interesting person isn't he?" I commented.

"Yeah, he really is, isn't he," Deidara chuckled pleasantly. I thought it was pretty cute when he smiled like that.

"Tobi smells love!" Tobi shouted.

"TOBI!!" Deidara and I shouted, "What was that for, baka!!" We both punched Tobi in the head.

"Owie, don't hit Tobi! Tobi is a good boy, sempai!"

"SHUT UP TOBI!!" Deidara yelled at Tobi as he hit him again. The first time had been enough for me.

"OWIES!"

***

We walked towards the nearest town. We were silent as we walked through the cool forest. "Hey, Tsubaki," Deidara began, "We need you to buy some supplies, here's the list." Deidara handed me a list of supplies, it was pretty long. "By the way, you should hide your head band; those Anbu will probably capture you if they see it. Leader-sama wouldn't like that."

"Right." I removed my headband and put it in my bag. "I'll be back before sundown." I walked away as Deidara and Tobi dashed away behind me.

After an hour or so, I finally approached the small village. It was full of shops stocked with fruit, vegetables, and spices. I took out my wallet; I had enough money for the supplies. I strolled from stall to stall and bought some vegetables and spices to make dinner. I checked the list. The only thing left was…clay? Why does he need that?

I looked around at the area, no clay anywhere. I wandered the village looking for anyplace that sold clay. *_Where the heck am I going to find clay?_* After looking around for hours finally found a stall for art supplies that

*_…That jerk better thank me for buying him all this clay, and making me carry it all home!_* I walked up the path to get back to camp. The forest was warm and soothing in the afternoon, the cicadas chirping was enough to put me to sleep. The air warmed my insides and brightened my mood a bit. The sound of footsteps broke the moment. When I looked up and saw a pair of Anbu.

They were clearly from Konaha, the ones we had to kill to protect the organization. They both matched our description perfectly. The first one, a man, had a high, chocolate brown ponytail and wore a hawk mask. He also had a tattoo on his arm that distinguished him as the anbu Towa.

The other, a woman, had long light brown hair held in a long ponytail with six gold hair pins. She had a cat-like Anbu mask. I could identify her as the anbu Komachi. "Hey, kid!" the man called to me, "Have you seen anybody in black cloaks with red clouds on them?" They didn't seem to recognize me from the village.

"I haven't seen any myself but, I heard some people saw two men in the next village. Maybe you can ask some of the villagers." I lied in a pleasant manner.

"Thanks kid; and be careful; the forest is dangerous at night," he said as he and Komachi left for the nearby village.

"Ok, mister!" I replied while hiding my true motive. I didn't want to kill fellow Konaha ninja, but much worse would happen if they got their hands on the Kyuubi. As soon as the Anbu were far enough away so they wouldn't be able to hear or see me I ran to our camp.

*_I need to alert Deidara-san immediately in order for the mission to be successful_*


	5. Ch 5: Wounded Loyalty

Takishira Chronicles

Ch. 5: Breech of Loyalty

The sun was slowly disappearing under the horizon, turning the sky into a canvas of the heavens. I eventually came to our camp; Deidara and Tobi were sitting casually. "Sempai, Tsubaki-san is back!" Tobi exclaimed gleefully. "Finally! What took you so long, un?" Deidara teased.

"I got your clay, and," I began slowly, "I found our targets. I said that they might get information in the nearby village. They'll be there in a few hours." We were all silent for a few moments. "You are more useful than I thought, yeah."

***

The sun was long down by now, the Anbu were walking alongside a nearby river. The waning moon illuminated the river, making it sparkle in the night, along with the two's pale white masks.

Deidara and I hid in the nearby trees, silently waiting for the fight moment. Tobi was watching over camp and wasn't going on the mission with us. "When are you going to be ready?" I whispered. He said nothing and kept his hands in the pouches of clay he kept at his waist. He took his hand out of his clay pouch and spat out some of his clay from his hand-mouth.

"Hmm…Alright I'm ready now," Deidara replied as quietly as possible. He molded the clay he had spat out with his hand and did the same with his other hand. It made me a sick to my stomach to look when he used those things. Deidara molded three small birds and dropped them in front of us. He made a focusing seal and sent them after the two Anbu. Just as they got close enough he shouted his command to detonate them,

"KATSU!!"

The statues exploded right behind the two Anbu. However, they managed to get away from the blast. Deidara then threw a hoard of clay spiders at them that he had molded in only mere seconds. The female Anbu threw her hair pins at us at a blinding speed. We both dodged them with ease, leaving us open to attack. The male Anbu came at us with a chakra sword. *_If_ _it connects we're dead!_*

"Hyouton: Artic Spear!" I shouted, "IMPALEMT!!" The water from the nearby river quivered and rose. The water flowed with my chakra and it hardened to a point. I willed my ice towards the male Anbu and drove the ice's tip through his gut.

"TOWA!" The female shouted in shock at the fatal wounding of her comrade.

"K-Komachi, flee; save yourself!!" he ordered through his intense pain.

"But, Towa I,"

"DO IT!" the male Anbu hacked and coughed, blood ran from under his mask and he collapsed. Now all we had to deal with the woman. We chased after the female Anbu. She kept running from us, but she seemed to be writing something on a scroll.

Deidara saw this and quickly threw some clay birds at her. She turned and threw her hair pins at them to counter, but instead detonated them. The Anbu managed to dodge most of the blast, but was still injured. She stumbled for a moment and attempted to keep running. I seized the moment and stabbed her with my ice, directly through her chest.

Before she had a chance to give her one last message, "Forgive me…," I whispered in her ear as she fell. I bent down and checked her pulse; she was dead.

**"…That girl isn't as useless as I thought."**

"I told you so."

***

"Hey Tsubaki," Deidara asked, "How did you make that ice? Only mist ninja are supposed to be able to do that, un." I slowly sipped the tea I made for everyone. Tobi was napping in the corner (well I think he was anyway), and Deidara and I sat in front of the fire.

"I got the Hyouton bloodline from my father," I answered. "He was born in Kirigakure."

"Then what are you doing with a Leaf headband, un?" He asked a bit more interested this time.

"I was born in Konaha, and I've always lived there," I was starting to wonder why he even cared about my past.

"I thought you said you dad was a Kiri-nin, un."

"He was, but now he's for Konaha."

"Why would anyone do a thing like that, un?"

"I'll explain…my mother was a Kunoichi from Konaha, and my father was a jonin from the Kirigakure," I confided, "My father used his keckai genkai to succeed in nearly all of his missions. However, the rest of the village began to persecute him for it, even though he had proved his loyalty many times. He was chased out of the village forcing him to become a wandering ninja. I don't know what happened to the people who started the riot, but my dad thinks the Mizukage punished them severely for it. After all they had lost one of their best jonin.

One day, he found himself in the Land of Fire, near Konaha. My father had heard that this was a village with a kind and merciful leader. He sunk in and pleaded the 3rd Hokage to make him one of the Leaf Ninja. Seeing that he truly wanted to be a good person, the 3rd agreed. On an escort mission he met my mother. Eventually they married and a few years later, had me."

"Then what happened, hm?"

"Well, everything was normal until my father was injured in the line of duty. His hands were terribly damaged, so he retired as a shinobi," I revealed to Deidara, "My mother was devastated, so she started a small medical clinic for the villagers."

I looked up at the sky, which was beginning to show a thin strip of pink just above the horizon. The night was nearly over.

"Come on, Tsubaki, we should get some sleep, un," said Deidara.

With that, we both lay down on opposite sides of the now smoldering fire and drifted off to sleep.

5


	6. Ch 6: Shocking Developments

"Tsunade-sama! Two Anbu have just been murdered!" Shizune announced to Tsunade.

"Which two Anbu was it?"

"Towa and Komachi, however Komachi was able to write a message in a scroll before she was taken down. It wasn't much but enough to tell us who killed them."

"Well who did it?" Tsunade asked Shizune.

"The Akatsuki."

"What team did it?" Tsunade asked her voice grave.

"We don't know, but Komachi gave us a hit as to who it is," Shizune explained. "We think she had begun to write one of their names, but it was charred at the point where it began. So we only got the first letter, T."

Tsunade reclined in her seat, "We don't have enough clues yet to figure out which ones it was, so we'll get back to this later."

"Now, has Takishira-san reported from Sunagakure?"

"…No, apparently no one has seen her at all since she left. They've sent some jonin to look for her but they haven't found any traces of her," Shizune reported.

"That's strange, even she's never this late…," Tsunade said. "…Should we send Hamaguchi-san?" Shizune asked.

"Only as a last resort, because you and I both know how risky that is."

***

I woke up at the break of dawn. *_Crap, I couldn't get any sleep._* I walked towards the river to wash the dirt and blood from my face. I looked at my reflection; I still had the same shoulder-length, brunette hair. I still had the same ice blue eyes. I still had the same petite figure, with about a C-cup chest. But when I looked deeper I looked completely different. My eyes seemed to look darker, as if they had frozen over with. They hardly seemed like the eyes of this petite young girl. These were the eyes of a killer.

*_I'm a killer now; I don't have room for compassion towards my former comrades._ _But…they were my comrades, they were like family! If I ever fight my closest friends…I would probably lose it._*

I slowly walked to our camp to make breakfast. After an hour or so, Tobi and Deidara had woken up. "Morning, Tsubaki, un," Deidara greeted.

"Morning, Tsubaki-chan!" Tobi exclaimed gleefully. I really wanted to know were this guy's energy came from.

"Oh, good morning," I replied quietly, since I was a bit depressed from last night's mission. Deidara easily picked up on it so he asked,

"What's wrong? Are you still upset about that last mission?" I remained silent, but that gave him his answer. "That's part of being a ninja, un. You'll have to kill whether you want to or not. It's our job."

"Yeah, I guess you're right Deidara-san," I admitted. We ate in the quiet for most of the morning.

Around about noon, Deidara stood up and interrupted our silence. "So, we should probably get moving if we want to get to the three-tails, un," Deidara suggested.

"Do you mean one of the tailed demons, Deidara?" I asked.

"Yeah, Tobi hasn't found his assigned demon yet, un. So naturally we have to go with him," He explained.

"So, were do we have to go?" I asked out of curiosity.

"We have to go to Kirigakure. We won't be long since I don't think it has a jinchuuriki, un. It'll be easier than the Suna jinchuuriki, un," Deidara supposed.

"Wait, do you mean the Kazekage, Gaara?"

"Yeah, he actually made me break a sweat. I got him in the end, but it cost me my arm, un." I stared at Deidara in disbelief; I never would've thought that _**anyone**_ could fight a kage and **win**! "We got the Ichibi, so Suna will have to look for a new Kazekage, yeah," Deidara said brimming with pride.

I was completely stunned. I knew Deidara was strong but I didn't know he was **that **strong! "You looked shocked. All Akatsuki members are at least S-rank criminals, un. It shouldn't be that shocking. We're the ninja elite, and a few of us are even immortal, un. You should be glad leader-sama was merciful, un."

"I'm only here because of my deal with your leader, otherwise I don't like working with a band of low lives like you," I said bluntly.

"Tobi thinks Tsubaki-chan has other reasons," Tobi teased.

"…What are you saying?" I asked.

"Tsubaki and Sempai sittin' in a tree; K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!!" Tobi sang loudly to test Deidara and me.

"Shut the h*** up, baka, un!" Deidara commanded Tobi as he punched him in the head.

"OWIE!!! Tsubaki-chan, Deidara-sempai hit me!!!!" Tobi whined loudly, "Please~ help? Tobi is a good boy, Tsubaki-chan!"

"Tobi, I **said **shut up, un," Deidara barked at Tobi.

"Deidara, I really think you could be a little nicer to Tobi," I sheepishly tried to convince him.

"…Fine, un. But just this time!"

"Oh, THANK YOU, TSUBAKI-CHAN!!!!" Tobi exclaimed, practically crushing my ribs.

"…uh…You're welcome?" I managed to choke out. Breathing was hard since Tobi was hugging me so hard. *_Air…AIR!!!_*


	7. Ch 7: Dreams Among the Clouds

I had been gone for a while now. Even though it felt like an eternity since I left the village and even longer since I saw my mother, I had only been gone about two weeks. We stood at the coast of the continent, facing towards the cerulean ocean. The gentle sea breezes felt good against my face and ruffled my hair, along with Deidara's. "So how are we going to get to Kirigakure?" I asked, since a boat may be hard to get discreetly and walking would take too long, "Are we taking a boat?"

Deidara smirked, "What else would we do; we're flying, un!" He chuckled at my shocked expression; he always loved toying with my mind.

"How the crap are we going to do **that**?" I asked him as any person would.

"With this, un" he answered as he molded some clay in his hand. When he opened him hand the clay had became a small bird with a large beak. He dropped it to the ground and in a flash of smoke it became about big enough for two people to ride on. *_Wait, only two?_*

"Deidara, it's only big enough for two. We all can't fit on that," I pointed out.

"No it's not, un," Deidara argued, "Tobi, you're riding in the mouth." *_What! Is he serious?!_*

"Why, sempai? Tobi is a good boy!"

"Tobi is a freakin' obnoxious boy, so ride in the mouth, un!" Deidara barked.

Tobi gave in, "Yes, sempai." *_Poor Tobi; aw well, finally a break from the guy!_* We both mounted on the clay bird, and we could hear Tobi's muffled whimpering from inside the mouth of the bird. I felt a bit bad for him but shook it off.

The bird took off swiftly, rapidly gaining height into the cool blue sky. Much to my distain, I wrapped my arms around Deidara tightly so I wouldn't fall off. Then as fast as we had ascended, we gently slowed down and began to glide through the sky. The wind ruffled my brunette hair and whistled in my ears. Deidara was smiling from ear to ear; I've only seen him happier when we killed those Anbu. "So, you really like flying, huh?" I asked Deidara in attempt to make conversation.

"Yeah, it makes you feel so free, un. But, the one thing that I really love is my art, un," he was smiling wildly just thinking about it.

"You're an artist?" I had never seen him paint or anything.

"Of course! Art is in a single, fleeting moment of ecstasy, un! How could you not love it?" he declared proudly, "What do you think about art, un?" I paused for a moment; I had never thought much about art.

"…Well, I've never thought about it," I answered truthfully.

"Aw well, it's at least better than Sasori-no-danna's views, un," he admitted.

"Who's Sasori?" I asked him. Deidara looked resistant for a moment, like he didn't want to remember something. "He was my former partner in the Akatsuki, un," he stated, "Sasori always said that art is eternal, something to last forever; what a idiot, un. If that was true then nothing would die! The jerk never even respected my art, no matter how much I respected his, un."

"That's awful! Even though he didn't agree with you, he should still respect your ideas; what a jerk!" I said angrily.

Deidara was silent for few moments, "I almost miss him, even though I have no clue why, un. He always acted so superior, always taking care of his **prizes. **No idea how he thought they were art, I thought they were just plain creepy, un."

I looked up at him, "What happened to him?"

A pained look crossed his face, "He was killed when we captured the Ichibi, un. So, he's been dead for only a month or so." I felt so bad for him, it seemed like they were good friends. However, one thing was still on my mind; who killed him?

"…Deidara, who killed Sasori-san?" I asked gently.

Deidara looked straight at me, "His grandmother Chiyo," he paused, "and some pink-haired chick named Sakura, or something, un. I think she was from Konaha." I was completely stunned. *_I had no idea Sakura-chan was so strong!_* However, this shouldn't have been a shock. I knew she was training under the Hokage and I haven't talked to her since the chunin exams.

"…Hey, we're almost there, un," Deidara announced.

"Oh, ok Deidara-san."

9


	8. Ch 8: The Search for the Sanbi

We were slowly approaching the outskirts of the Mist Village to find the Sanbi Bijuu. Most of the nearby forest was foggy, making the tree leaves shiny with dew. "Crap man, I hate this place, yeah. It's always either foggy or raining! Does this place ever get any dry weather, un?" Deidara complained loudly.

"Well Deidara, this is the Hidden Mist Village. It hardly ever sees sunshine this time of year," I explained to him gently.

"Easy for you to say; you're water element, un! You should love all of this crappy weather, un!" he shouted.

I scowled, "Well, sorry! Oh and I'm not water, I'm ice!" I was getting pretty mad now. *_Why does Deidara-chan have to ruin the scenery?_*

"Guys will you quit arguing, please?" Tobi pleaded us.

"Fine, Tobi," I said. "So Deidara, where are we going to find the Sanbi?" I asked him, trying to let our argument pass.

"I'm not sure, un. The Sanbi is supposed to be wild, so it should be easier than usual. It should be somewhere around a big lake, un." Deidara told us.

"I think to be safe; you guys shouldn't wear your cloaks. If the Akatsuki weren't as well known this wouldn't be a problem, but we aren't that lucky. Oh, and you should hide your hand-mouths," I suggested.

"Why should I? They aren't that noticeable, un,"

"Deidara, be realistic," I said.

"…Fine, I'll put on some gloves, un. Don't know why, they aren't that bad…un."

***

We approached a small village. It looked very poor and run down. It had a market with a few stalls that sold fish from the lake, rice, and a local crafts. The homes were mostly run down shacks with thatched roofs. "Wow, this place is a dump, un," Deidara commented. I remained silent. *_…Are these the conditions my father had to grow up in? Wow, Konaha looks like Atlantis compared to this place._*

***

Tobi was guarding the camp so, once again, it was just Deidara and me. Deidara wore a dark gray jacket and his typical clothes underneath it. He still wore his headband to show he was a ninja. I still wore mine as well, since Deidara was wearing his. These people probably wouldn't think much of it. A small group of women stood at a store front gossiping among themselves. One was an elderly woman, and the other two were in about their thirties and wore their hair in a loose bun. Strangely enough, they seemed to be twins.

"Have you heard about the demon in the lake?" the old woman said.

"Yes, it's been attacking our husbands who go to the lake to fish," the twin on the right said.

"If the Sanbi keeps doing this then we'll all be starving to death! Oh mother, what have we done to anger the gods?" The twin on the left said.

We glanced at each other; I think we both had the same idea. Deidara walked up to the group. "I couldn't help but over hear your troubles, un. We could help with your problem," Deidara commented smoothly, "We'll rid you of that demon for you, free of charge, un."

"What makes you think a few rouge ninjas can kill the Sanbi?" the right twin taunted, "The ninja that were sent from the Hidden Village never returned."

"Trust us, we're far above your average shinobi, un," Deidara stated frankly. He had good reason to, he **was** above most ninja."So, were is the Sanbi, un?" Deidara asked.

"The demon in the lake just west of the town, but be warned it is very dangerous," the old woman told us.

"Thank you, baa-sama," I told the woman politely, "you will be rid of the demon. You should be able to return to the lake in three days."

We let the village and headed back to our camp. Tobi was climbing a tree when we got there. "Hey Tobi, we found your Bijuu," I told him.

"YAY!! Tobi will get to prove himself for Dei-Dei-sempai!" Tobi exclaimed.

"Tobi I thought I told you not to call me Dei-Dei, un," Deidara said angrily.

"Why not? It fits you better," Tobi said.

"No it doesn't, un," Deidara smacked him in the back of the head.

"Owie!! Why you gotta be so mean, sempai?"

"Shut up Tobi, un."

I giggled a bit; they reminded me so much of my old squad mates. *_…Boys, they never grow up; do they?_*

11


	9. Ch 9: Collection

We approached the lake at the western edge of the town. It wasn't as foggy here, so the stray rays of light gently pierced through the trees. "So are you **sure**you don't need my help?" I asked Deidara.

"Of course not," he smirked, "this is Tobi's bijou; he should get as little help as possible, un. But I'll probably be stuck doing most of the work anyway, un."

"If you say so." We were directly in front of the lake now. The water was completely motionless, like glass. Only a few rays of light penetrated the thick cloud cover. Deidara and Tobi walked onto the water as I stood and watched. When they got to the center of the lake, all was quiet. *_What are they waiting for?_* I looked down at the calm water; a ripple interrupted its peace. The ripples came at a steady rhythm, slowly increasing in size and speed. Then almost immediately after the ripples, a giant turtle rose from the water! Its shell and plating was light green and its skin was red. The beast also had three long armored tails. So this was the Sanbi the villagers talked about. I would've never thought that it would be **this** big!

The Sanbi immediately dove into the water, and speed after Tobi. Deidara made a clay bird to avoid the surface of the water and observed from there.

"AAAAAHHHH! Sempai, it's after me!" Tobi shouted, "Shouldn't Kisame-san be the one to do this?!" I couldn't clearly hear what Deidara said, but I saw him make a clay statue with his hand. He dropped in the water and wordlessly ignited it. The blast heavily damaged the Sanbi and flung Tobi high in the air.

I made a slide of ice to catch him. "Thanks a lot, Tsubaki-chan!" He thanked as he slid down.

"Yeah, just hurry up and go!" I ordered. Tobi ran back to the center of the lake and threw some kunai at it; the tail blocked effortlessly. Deidara threw three spiders at the Sanbi, and ignited them. The monster seemed to be down, but it slowly stirred. "Hyouton: Arctic Prison," I uttered calmly. The Sanbi's leg was slowly encased in a thick sheet of ice. It struggled against the ice but it couldn't break free. "Now, Tobi!" I shouted.

"Hai!" Tobi threw an exploding tag at the Sanbi, knocking it out. "Yay! We did it sempai, we did it!" Tobi exclaimed to Deidara.

"Damnit Tsubaki, I told you not to help, un!" Deidara shouted from his perch. I put my hands on my hips, "Well, at least we have the Sanbi!"

"Fine, well at least help us get these ropes on it, un." I smirked, "I thought you didn't want me to help." Deidara was starting to get mad. "Well, forget that and just help, un!" I agreed and helped tie the ropes onto the Sanbi.

***

It was the late after noon. The clouds had cleared and now the blazing sun shone bright against the water of the lake. I wanted some alone time so I came here. Deidara had said he liked art, so maybe I could make something for him. You know, to help us get along better.

I made some of the water rise from the lake. Now all I had to do was focus on the shape I wanted. *_…Maybe I could make a bird; he seems to like them._* I focused my chakra throughout the water. It became a small sparrow, very similar to the ones Deidara made. "Yes, I did it!" I said to myself proudly. I focused some more and froze it so it could hold its shape. It flew above the water gracefully skimming the surface leaving tiny ripples. It willed it to go higher, and it did so the moment I wanted it to. Once I cut my chakra flow, the sparrow broke and shattered; leaving tiny shards of ice sparkling in the sunlight. The awe of it all felt like a warmth throughout my entire body or at least that is the best way to describe it. *_ …So this is how he must feel._* I continued to do this for hours, watching my creations melt into the golden sun.

"Hey were have you been, un?" I turned around and saw Deidara standing behind me. I was red in the face; it was already sunset. I had completely lost all track of time. "Well? What took you so long, un?" I didn't know what to say so, I told the truth.

"Well I…I was working on a new technique," I admitted, "H-here I'll show you." I made an ice sparrow and sent it flying above the water, and it melted away when it hit sunlight, as I had been doing all this time. Deidara watched it in fascination, like a child on Fourth of July. "T-that was really cool…very artistic, un," he stated, "I love it." He chuckled cutely; it was such an unexpected thing to see on the bomber's face.

"You really like it?"

"Of course I do, art is a sweet fleeting moment, un. You executed that in a way that was all but perfect."

"Art…its just like snow…," I muttered, "It's exactly like that; a new snow is so wonderful and pure, but it can only last for so long. Eventually it will melt away, and join the rivers of all the past snows." I meant every word of that, but I still don't know were it came from. Deidara smiled warmly. I hadn't seen a smile like that in a long time…

"I agree completely, un." At that moment I'm sure I was blushing like crazy, so I decided to get off the subject.

"W-we should probably get back to Tobi before he does something stupid," I stuttered.

"I'll make sure we get there fast, un," Deidara said warmly. He molded his clay into a giant owl and made it so it was large enough to ride; large enough for three. The first time I rode one it had room for two on its back and one in its large beak.

"Did you make the last one smaller on purpose?" I asked him.

He smirked, "I had to find a way to shut him up, un." We both laughed out loud.

"Wow, you really are horrible aren't you?" I teased.

"Well I am an Akatsuki after all, un."


	10. Ch 10: Finally, Vacation!

We were slowly walking along the coastline, the soft white sand a beautiful contrast to the deep blue sea. It felt so sad to have to leave such a beautiful place so soon. "Deidara, why do we have to leave so soon? Can't we stay a little longer?" I begged.

"Leader-sama will probably want us back to the mainland very soon, un. So we should leave soon, un." I looked over at Tobi, and we knew what we both had to do. We gave him our ultimate combination move; puppy dog eyes!

"Pllllleeeaasseee?" we begged him, making our eyes as big and round as possible.

"No, un."

"Plllleeeaasssee?"

"NO!"

"Pllleee-,"

"ALRIGTH, UN!" Tobi and I gave each other a high-five; the puppy dog eyes technique never fails on Deidara.

***

Deidara was taking a nap on the beach, and Tobi was splashing around in the water. I sat on a log and grilled some fish on an open flame. "Deidara, Tobi, lunch is ready!" I shouted. Deidara woke up and walked over.

"Thanks, un." I looked over at Tobi; he came over and sat down, but he didn't pick up his fish. "How come you're not eating?" Tobi stiffened, "…I-I well…I'll eat later." Whatever, he just won't take his stupid mask off.

"How come you won't take that mask off Tobi?" I asked him, I really wanted to know what was under there!

"That's because he probably looks like a uke. Since, you know, none of the happy go lucky ones are seme, un," Deidara said bluntly. I nearly choked on my fish. I tried to hold back the urge to laugh out loud, but the effort was sending tremors through my spine. I could hardly believe he said that.

"Sempai, what's an uke?" Tobi asked; he cocked his head when he did this, like a puppy. Deidara and I just looked at each other and then just laughed out loud until tears were streaming down our faces. "What? Tobi doesn't get it, what's so funny?" We tried to catch our breath, so one of us could change the subject.

"Well Tobi, an uke is a character in a ya-," I couldn't finish my sentence because Deidara put his hand over my mouth.

"I don't think Tobi wants to know what an uke is, un."

I thought about it, "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Does sempai know what an uke is?" Tobi asked, getting desperate.

"Yes and I'm not telling you, un." I almost felt bad for Tobi now but still didn't want to have to explain it to him.

"Please? I've heard it before from Hidan. Does Tobi need to ask him?"

Deidara stopped for a moment, "What did he say this time, un?" his tone was like acid.

"Tobi thinks he said, 'That mother f***ing uke always takes to long in the mother f***ing bathroom! For the love of Jashin, what's he doing in there? Having his f***ing happy time!?!' and then he got fed up and tried to pee on Zetsu-san again." I had never met this Hidan guy, but he already sounded like a real punk.

"Did he say anything else?" I had a bad feeling some bombs would go off.

"Tobi thinks he called you a fag, too." I took a few steps back. *_Three, two…one._*

"OH THAT BASTARD IS SO DEAD, UN!!" Deidara shouted. *_Blast-off_.*

"Tobi agrees with Hidan-san, you're a pretty girl, sempai." Tobi commented. Deidara immediately made some clay spiders and sent them at Tobi.

Naturally Tobi ran away like a little girl, "AAHH, Tobi is sorry, sempai! Tobi is a good boy!" he screamed.

"SHUT THE HELL UP TOBI, un!" Deidara shouted at him as he threw some spiders at him, "KATSU!" The spiders exploded on Tobi, launching him into the ocean.

*…_Wow, these guys are freaks._*

***

Deidara and I sat on the sea shore; the wind blew gently through our hair. It was close to sunset, which made the sky begin to turn a light orange. It was Tobi's turn to set up camp, so he wasn't at the beach. "I can't believe the day is almost over," I admitted to Deidara, "It sure was fun."

"Yeah, it was, un," Deidara paused, "After all; the best things in life don't last forever, yeah." I giggled; I would've never thought that a wanted criminal could be such a good person to be with. Only two weeks ago we were at each others' necks.

"You know," I began, "its weird how something so horrible, turned out so fulfilling in the end. I'm kind of glad you found me." We looked at each other for a few moments, until Deidara broke the silence.

"I'm glad too, un," he smiled, and I smiled back at him. I don't know why but…I wanted to kiss him really bad…would he want me to? I thought about it. *_No it's too soon! We what would he say? What would he do? I mean…_* Now my face was starting to turn red. I couldn't find the words. So I just did what felt right.

I quickly kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for everything, Deidara-kun." My entire face was bright red, but I was smiling anyway. I looked at Deidara, he looked completely shocked and his face was just as red as mine if not redder.

"……Y-y-you're welcome, un." He was clearly still in shock.

"Let's not tell Tobi about this," I said. "He'd probably never let this go."

"He **definitely **wouldn't let this go, un."

XXXXX

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	11. Ch 11: New Comrades

I woke up from a peaceful sleep, the most peaceful sleep I've had in months. I still couldn't get it; I should hate them, because they were the enemy. But…I didn't hate them, they were my new companions. I almost couldn't hate them at this point. I used to have teammates but…

****

_"Tsubaki, just admit it, you like him!" Yuru teased me._

_"Of course I don't! We're just squad mates!"_

_"Whatever Tsubaki, you so love Miziro!" I slapped Yuru in the face, hard. _

_"Shut up, Yuru!"_

_"Yuru, Tsubaki, enough fighting. If we want to escape the Forest of Death, then we shouldn't fight among our selves," Miziro ordered. _

_"Whatever, Miziro. We're never going to pass anyway; my goal is to make it out alive!" Yuru said. I rolled my eyes at him; he always did this. All Yuru ever does is complain and tease me! Miziro just tries to be the responsible one, but Yuru never listens! I just wish we could work well together, just once. _

_"Come on, we have an Earth Scroll, so maybe we can at least get a heaven scroll from someone weak," I stated trying to be opportunistic. "We can get this far, so why not?" I kept trying to be positive, but I truly felt that we were going to fail._

****

I looked up at Zetsu giving our team a mission. "You'll need to destroy anyone in the village if they do not comply." He had just finished explaining our new mission. Hopefully Deidara would explain it to me later.

**"By the way, you'll be working with Hidan and Kakuzu. They'll be here soon and try not to make them mad."** Zetsu advised as he sank back into the ground.

"'Right Zetsu-san, un." I was still lost in though about my team mates *_Wait who are Hidan and Kakuzu?_* I had only heard about Hidan once but not Kakuzu. I was curious and finally decided to ask Deidara about it.

"Deidara; who are Hidan and Kakuzu?" I asked him.

"Fellow Akatsuki members, un."

***

Deidara, Tobi and I waited silently at our meeting point. The sunlight hardly came through the trees at all the leaves were so thick. When I finally thought they wouldn't show, they landed on the ground in a quick flash. The first one wore a black mask and a hood; his eyes were green at the pupils and red around them. He bore a Waterfall Village forehead protector.

The other one was just as scary. He had brilliant violet eyes with silver hair that was slicked back. I wonder how much hair gel that took. He carried a blood red, triple-bladed scythe with him; very intimidating. He wore a Hot Springs Village forehead protector and a silver necklace around his neck.

"Hey Deidara, who's the chick?" the one with the scythe asked Deidara.

"She's my new underling Leader-sama appointed to me, un," Deidara explained. "Tsubaki, this is Hidan," he pointed to the pale one, "and that's Kakuzu, un."

"Nice to meet you, Hidan and Kakuzu-san," I greeted politely. "My name's Takishira Tsubaki." Hidan looked at me and smirked.

"So Deidara, Leader-sama got you your own personal bitch, huh?" Hidan commented, "Well I have to say, I'm impressed! Way to go kid! I thought that you either were a fag or just that hopeless!" He patted Deidara's back in approval, but Deidara-kun's mouth was hung wide open, as was mine. *_…I can-not-believe he said that!_* I was shaking I was so mad at this guy; I wanted just to bitch-slap him so hard he'd taste leather glove for a week!

"Shut up Hidan, she maybe a tad bit useful," Kakuzu ordered his partner, "Sorry about my partner, he's quite a waste of space." I seemed to prefer Kakuzu over Hidan but they both were really frightening. At least Kakuzu didn't refer to me as bitch.

"So we need to murder the feudal lord and burn the village, right?" Hidan asked Deidara.

"Yeah, that's our mission but some Konoha ninja were assigned to protect the guy, un," Deidara stated.

"Well then, we attack at nightfall," Kakuzu ordered us.

"Right."


	12. Ch 12: Realization

It was a quiet, completely silent night. There was no wind at all, all was completely motionless; the calm before the storm. "You remember the plan, un?"

"Yes, Deidara-kun; I'll hold nothing back." Deidara and I were on top of a tall hill. Kakuzu and Hidan were currently in the city, preparing to attack the feudal lord while we silently waited. Suddenly a bird call pierced the cool air; the siginal for the feudal lord's guard. You could clearly see the guard prepare to fight the intruders, though their efforts in vain. Nobody could defeat an Akatsuki, especially not a simple guard.

"Let's go, un." We both quickly dashed to the palace. The guards were about to infiltrate the palace to attempt to save the feudal lord. I landed in front of the guards, and gave them a death glare.

"I don't think so." I quickly made the seals necessary, "Hyouton: Arctic Spear," I uttered as the nearby water rose and froze, "…impalement." The ice quickly made pillars and impaled all of the guards. I looked at the spoils of my deed but my heart was filled with grief…all of those men, dead. They were leaving behind their wives and children. *_I'm sorry, but it had to be done._*

"Hey Tsubaki; Behind you, un!" I looked behind me as quick as possible, but it was only a flash claws.

"FANG OVER FANG!" I flew to the side of the wide court and hit the wall, leaving an imprint of my body in the stone. I clutched my arm, it was wounded and bleeding. I got up and looked at my attacker…Inuzuka Kiba. He was fairly tall, had scruffy brown hair and a red Inuzuka fang mark on each cheek. He stood next to a giant, white and brown hound; Akamaru.

"…Huh? Tsubaki!? What are you doing here?" Kiba asked me. I remained silent, mentally preparing my self for the pain to come.

"…I-I'm sorry Kiba-san, but I have to do this. No hard feelings." I charged my charka. "Hyouton: Artic Spear." The ice rushed towards Kiba and Akamaru, but they were very fast and dodged it.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Tsubaki?" Kiba shouted, but I ignored him. One of the pillars tripped him and another came close to hitting him. But something was wrong; I couldn't move my ice any further. I looked over and saw a pale, slender girl with long violet hair and creamy lavender eyes.

"H-hinata!?!" I was shaking; none of my preparation could have stopped this pain. She was a close friend, not as close as Sakura, but we talked when Sakura was out on missions or training with Tsunade-sama. I couldn't move, not because of her gentle fist, but because I couldn't bear to kill Hinata. I released the justu; I couldn't focus enough on it.

"T-tsubaki-chan, what are you doing here? Were have you been for so long?" Hinata asked me in a worried tone. Tears began to roll down my face.

*_…Damn it all. Why does everyone else get to be happy with their family, with their friends, with their normal lives!? I was just like every one else I did my job; I did what I was supposed to. So why is it I'm the one who has to go through hell!?! Am I meant to be a monster; do they want me to be a monster!?_*

*_Well, if they want a monster out of me, a monster is what they're going to get!!!_*

12


	13. Ch 13 Awakening

"Hinata, I'm not the same as when you all knew me. I'll have to give you a warning; surrender or die," I said absolutely.

"What are you saying?" Hinata asked me. I could tell it hurt her as much as it hurt me.

"We are no longer comrades; I now work under the Akatsuki. Now don't make me repeat myself, surrender or die!"

Hinata got into her fighting stance, her palms flowing with chakra.

"I choose neither one!" Hinata declared as she charged. She tried to hit me with the gentle fist but I kept dodging the best I could. I leaped on top of the courtyard wall.

"Hyouton: Artic Prison!" The water was rushing towards Hinata's feet, but she quickly dashed away. I added more charka to the water, so it would move faster; focusing as hard as I could. I even moved my arms to increase my range, but she was still avoiding it.

I threw a kunai at her, so she would have to block. Hinata smacked it out of the way, and then my water caught up! I instantly froze it at her feet so she couldn't move. Hinata struggled but was ultimately trapped.

I walked towards Hinata to deliver the final blow. "I'm sorry Hinata-san but it has to be done," I whispered to her, "No hard feelings." I tried to do it, but something held me back. I couldn't do it.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HINATA!!!" Kiba yelled as he charged at me. He would've hit me, but he was slapped away in a flash of black and red. He was flung all the way **through the wall**!

"Tsubaki, Hidan finally completed the mission, it's time to leave," Kakuzu ordered.

"Hai, Kakuzu-san," I answered. A large explosion went off in the nearby area.

"Well looks like Deidara is done," Kakuzu commented. Hidan walked down from the stairs, but he was covered in blood and had huge gashes in his chest, arms, and legs. He even had a stake still stuck in his gut. *_What is this guy? Is he immortal or something?!?_*

"I always hate how you drag things out with your damn ceremonies," Kakuzu complained.

Hidan pulled the stake out of his stomach, "Can't go breaking Jashin-sama's commandments now can I?" Hidan retorted.

"Hey, the Hyuuga chick looks like she'll make a good sacrifice to Jashin-sama. May I?"

"No. We have to go, now," Kakuzu grumbled.

"Whatever, already got the the old fart," Hidan said. I was still distracted by the amount of blood he was covered in; he didn't even look a little concerned. Deidara swooped down from the night sky, smiling like an idiot.

"Well, I'm done, un," Deidara smirked, "There's a Konoha jounin tailing us though, un."

Speak of the devil, the Konaha jounin dashed through and broke the ice binding Hinata. She stood with a kunai drawn and her black hair long and flowing. Her crimson eyes were filled with righteous fury. It took a while, but I finally recognized her, Yuhi Kurenai.

"In the name of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, you are under arrest!" Kurenai-sensei declared.

"Whatever, bitch!" Hidan shouted at her. He threw down some smoke bombs to obscure her vision. I coughed in the smoke; I couldn't see any thing!

"Tsubaki, get on, un!" Deidara commanded. I hopped on and held Deidara-kun tight so I wouldn't fall off.

Deidara smirked, "KASTU!" A large bomb went off, destroying most of the city. "…What a shame, it was pretty artistically built, un." I nodded. Deidara-kun looked over at me. "Tsubaki, what's wrong, un?"

Tears slowly welled up in my eyes, "I know they're not my comrades anymore, but…" I tried to hold back the tears, "it still hurts to have to fight them like this. I miss them all really bad."

I could easily feel hot tears streaming down my face, "I hate this! I can never have a normal life like Sakura-chan or Hinata-san! I'll always have to be a lowlife, wandering the continent all for the sake of a man I don't even know!!! W-why can't we ever just live in peace?" I was sobbing deeply into Deidara-kun's warm back. Deidara turned around and stroked my head, and said this:

"Don't worry, Tsubaki, un. Once all of the bijou have been captured, we will find peace. I promise to never leave you until you are happy, un."

"P-promise?"

"I promise, un." I bent in close to him, and he bent in close to me, and we kissed, his soft lips gently pressing against mine. We pulled away from each other, and flew into the ebony night.

4


	14. Ch 14: Painful Memories

_"T-tsubaki…run while you still can, I'm finished," Miziro said weakly, his body scraped and bruised, wounded and bleeding. "Take good care of Yuru for me." My body was rushed with a wave of pain. This was agony no one could put into words…it was eating at every thing I was._

"_No Miziro! We can get you to the tower, you can make it!" I pleaded, "Don't leave, I-I-I love you!" I was sobbing deeply; so deeply that I didn't notice the enemy ninja behind me. The enemy's sword was drawn back to get rid of some wasted space. _

_"TSUBAKI!" Miziro shouted. Crimson blood spilled the forest floor, staining the leaves and his blade. My attackers eyes widened with shock……for he did not hit his target. I was still alive, but Miziro was standing behind me, sword in his chest. His eyes rolled back as he fell to the cold hard ground. He had died the very moment that sword pierced his chest. _

_"…N-no, n-n-NO, MIZIRO!" __I screamed into the cold air. Yuru was hidden in safety and I was not letting them get to him. _

_"Hey, maybe we can have some fun with the girl before we kill her," The one who killed Miziro supposed, "You should give up girlie, or we'll make things more painful." I remained silent._

_"I'm not letting you bastards leave this spot alive," I said bluntly. They laughed out loud, mocking me. I gave them a look that could kill them three times over. I raised my hand and water slowly seeped up from the ground, "Hyouton: Arctic Spear…" I uttered. The ice moved at a blinding speed and stabbed the murder's teammates; leaving them to oblivion. He began to run in fear, I slowly stepped towards him. He tripped on a rock and fell flat on his face. _

_"Please, d-don't kill me! Here, you can have the Heaven scroll!" he threw it at me, and I caught it, "Spare me!"_

_"You've got to be kidding me, spare you? You killed Miziro, and for that you must die. May you burn in the depths of Hell for what you have done!!!" I told him, my voice filled with madness. "Impalement!" I commanded my ice. It moved in a flash and stabbed him through his stomach, but it wasn't a fatal blow. "Don't worry; you'll only be alive for a few more days if you don't become hypothermic on me."_

_I walked away from my moment of righteous fury, and went to Miziro. I laid my hand over his eyes and closed them. Then I picked him up and went to Yuru._

***

"Tsubaki, its freakin' noon, get up, un!" Deidara shouted in my ear. I sprang up and hit my head on a low branch.

"…Ouch. Sorry I didn't wake up to make you guys breakfast, what have I missed?" I asked.

"Well, Tobi thought he could make something, but he ended up burning it all, un."

"How many times has he tried?"

Deidara looked frustrated for a moment, "He tried five, and by then all our food was burned to a crisp, un."

"Great, now what the heck are we going to eat? We can't go back to town, 'cause people would recognize us," I said annoyed. I looked over in the corner at Tobi, who was still sulking over it.

"Tobi is sorry, Tsubaki-chan," Tobi apologized.

"Oh…Tobi...uh...I'm sure I can find something," I said trying to comfort him, "Maybe there are some deer around here."

*_Tsunade's Office: Konoha_*

"Our mission was a failure Tsunade-sama. The Fedual Lord was brutally murdered by unidentified Akatsuki members. We may have been able to stop them but…" Hinata paused, "Tsubaki-chan held us off long enough for them to do there job. Then Akatsuki-no-Deidara set off an explosion and we lost the trail."

"While this is disappointing that you've failed," Tsunade began, "It is even more shocking that Tsubaki is fighting for them. Did you see any trace of a genjustsu, Hinata?" Hinata looked down; her face began to fill with pain.

"I-I didn't detect any genjustu, so she had to have been acting on her own free will," Hinata announced. Tsunade looked down at her tea.

"Tsunade-sama, should we tell Hamaguchi Yuru or Sakura?" Kiba asked.

"…Sakura would want to know, but Yuru couldn't care less."

"W-what do you mean? Weren't they squad mates?" Hinata asked Tsunade.

"Didn't she ever tell you what happened during the chunin exams?" Shino asked Hinata, "Her squad mate Miziro was killed by a team of Takigakure [Hidden Waterfall Village] ninja. In her rage at seeing him die, she brutally killed all of them. When she brought Miziro's body to Yuru, he blamed it all on her. They both graduated to chunin, but Yuru later became an elite jonin, then an Anbu agent. However, he never smiled around anyone again. She has tried to make-up once or twice, but Yuru never wants to patch things up."

"That's terrible, no wonder she hung around Sakura so much; she had to have been so lonely," Hinata said.

"There's no more room for sympathy. Takishira Tsubaki is now the enemy, and we can't hold back or we'll die. You're dismissed."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

7


	15. Ch 15: The Adventures of the BathHouse

I looked up into the clear blue sky. *_I can't believe it's been nearly so long since I was captured. I always thought I would be looking for a way to escape by now. Never would've thought I'd warm up to this…I guess being with Deidara-kun helped with it a lot._* That was true, if I was partnered with someone other than Deidara, I think I wouldn't be able to keep this peace of mind. I probably would've tried to escape long ago and get killed. I suppose I should be very grateful it was him.

I used my ice to make a sparrow; it gracefully flew above the trees and melted in the sunlight, just as all my creations did. I still felt some regret over having to fight with Hinata. I still wonder why I couldn't kill her. I thought I was able to, I mean, I could kill the Anbu, but not Hinata. Hopefully I would never have to fight Yuru or Sakura, I would almost rather die.

"God damnit Tobi! Quit trying to make origami ducks out of our money, un!" Deidara scolded Tobi, "We need this to go to the bath house, un." I had been waiting to go to for a week. Ever since I had been with the Akatsuki, I never had a hot bath. We would always use a river, and you have **no idea **how cold that can get…at midnight.

"But I'm bored sempai!" Tobi whined, "I don't get what the big deal is, it's just a bath house."

"Tobi, if you were a girl you'd understand that girls need a hot bath now and then or we get very cranky," I muttered.

"Does that make Deidara a girl? 'Cause he sure is cranky," Tobi asked.

*_Here he goes…_*

"FOR THE **LAST** TIME, **I AM A MAN**, un!!!" Deidara shouted at Tobi.

"I got an idea," I whispered to Tobi, "let's make a bet. If every one thinks Deidara is a girl, I'll buy you as much dango and candy you want, and if one person besides us thinks he's a guy at first glance, you have to take off your mask, deal?"

Tobi paused for a moment. "Deal. And I hope you got enough money for all of that dango," he smirked.

***

We made it to the nearby village's bath house. Luckily it was a small village so they wouldn't recognize us. We stepped into the small, homey bath house. The steam from the springs made the room very warm. "Yes, we'd like to pay for three baths, please," I told the clerk as I handed her the money.

"Right this way please, miss," the clerk told me. She looked over at Deidara who was heading towards the men's bath. "Excuse me, but the ladies bath is this way." Wow, this bet was **already** going down the toilet.

"I'm a man, un," Deidara said acidly as he glared at the clerk.

She blushed violently, "Oh…um…I-I'm very sorry sir." Deidara muttered something to himself and walked in to the changing rooms with Tobi.

I walked into the women's room and undressed to get into the bath. I put a towel around my bare body and walked into the springs. It was so warm and soothing. I sighed. *_If this was Yuru he would be upset that no other women were here. He was such a pervert._* I sure wonder what he's been doing lately.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, BAKA!! I AM A GOD DAMN MAN, UN!!!" I heard Deidara shout from over the fence. I moved over more to hear the others talking more clearly.

"Come on, sure you can't spare us a bra? Come on, you have to be a transy. Who else would have such a gay-ass hair cut?" A man said as he laughed with his friends.

"SHUT UP ALREADY, UN!"

I was beginning to wonder if I could actually afford all of that candy Tobi wanted…Crap, I'm going to be broke for a year.

"Tobi thinks Deidara does look a little bit gay," Tobi commented.

"Oh whatever, you uke-ass, un!" Deidara retorted as I was trying to hold back laughter.

"Takes one to know one, transy," the same man said.

"OH THAT'S IT, I AM OUTTA HERE, un!!" Deidara shouted.

"Wait for me sempai!"

I got out of the springs and donned my towel, *_So much for finishing my bath…_* I quickly put my clothes on and walked out the door. Deidara stormed out furiously muttering swear words under his breath. Tobi walked up next to me, "Everyone thought sempai was a girl, so I win."

"Not even one person?" I whispered.

"Not even one," Tobi smirked.

"…Damnit."


	16. Ch 16: Homecoming

"So where are we headed to next?" I asked Deidara.

"All of our missions are complete for now, so we're going home, un."

My sprits leapt, "Home? Do you mean, Konaha?"

Deidara shook his head, "No, our base, un. We go there when we finish missions," he molded two clay birds for us to ride on, "Hop on, un."

***

"So Deidara, what is the base like?" I asked.

"It's…dusty, it's very dusty. None of us are hardly ever there, un."

"Don't worry Tsubaki-chan; Tobi hasn't seen much of the base either. Tobi should because Tobi is a good boy," Tobi exclaimed from the bird next to us. I always rode with Deidara, who controlled a bird for Tobi and us.

I leaned on Deidara, *_I wonder if they'll ever actually make me an Akatsuki._* "Hey, Deidara," I asked, "Why didn't Leader-sama make me a member on the first day? I know I really hated it back then, but now I'm curious."

Deidara looked serious, "The Akatsuki can currently only hold only nine members at a time. Each ring," he showed me his, "physically ties you to it forever, un. If you leave like that creep Orochimaru, you'll still have the ring until you die. But you can't put back it on or you'll have no choice but to join, un. Plus, it just is so important to most of us that we can't bear to lose it, un." He looked dead serious. *_Would I really want to tie myself to that?_*

"What if Leader-sama wants me to join? Will he show up in person or use a messenger?" I asked franticly.

"If he wanted you to join, he definitely would show up, but not in person, un. No one ever sees Leader-sama, **ever**. Well, except his assistant Konan, un. She never shows up either," he complained.

"Well, I'm sure they're busy. After all they both lead the Akatsuki, right?" I sympathized.

"Whatever, we're almost in Amegakure, un." He looked over at Tobi and smirked, "Hey I got an idea, un." We descended a little lower and he made his bird drop Tobi to the ground.

"WWAAAAHHHH!!" Tobi screamed as he flailed in the air. Luckily we were low enough so it would just hurt and not kill him. Tobi hit the ground with a thud.

"Deidara that was really mean," I giggled softly.

Deidara smirked, "It made you laugh didn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so but still!" I blushed. We both laughed in the cool rainforest.

***

We ducked under a low wall in the cave, *_I wonder if we're getting close yet._* We stepped through a small opening in the wall, first Deidara, then Tobi, and then me. "Well, here we are, un," Deidara announced. I let my eyes adjust to the light and looked around. The walls were painted a light cream color, as was the tiled floor. There were a few bright hanging lamps to light the way, probably because there were no windows. The room was pretty plain. Deidara turned and looked over at me, "Don't worry the other rooms are a little more interesting, un," he chided. "Hey Kisame, we're back from the mission, un!" he shouted.

"Hey Deidara, so is she the new girl?" Kisame asked Deidara as he walked into the hall. Kisame was very tall and bulky. He practically dwarfed the rest of us. He carried a large sword covered with bandages on his back and had light blue skin with gill markings under his eyes. *_And I thought Deidara looked weird._*

"The name's Hoshikage Kisame, what's yours?" he asked me.

"My name is Takishira Tsubaki," I bowed, "nice to meet you."

Kisame paused, "…That's a Mizugakure surname."

"Well Kisame-san, that's because my father was originally from Mizugakure, before he immigrated to Konaha and met my mother," I explained coolly.

"Makes sense," Kisame muttered, "anyway nice to meet ya'. …I guess I better tell Itachi you guys are here. See you later, Tsubaki-san!" I paused and waited until he was out of hearing range.

"Is everyone in the Akatsuki this weird?" I whispered to Deidara.

"Yeah pretty much, un. Anyway, let's get to our rooms, I'm exhausted."

We walked down the dim hallway to a door with Deidara and Sasori's name written on a small hanging scroll. You could see Tobi's name messily scrawled off to the side.

Deidara unlocked the door to reveal a small bed room with a bunk bed in the corner, a small wood table with small clay models, and a lamp. The walls were painted an earthy green color. Like Deidara-kun had said, it was much more interesting than the hallway. Especially since I noticed that there were only two beds.

"…Deidara, there're only two beds, where am I going to sleep?" I asked. Deidara began to blush enough to make Hinata proud.

"…I…well…um…, I-I thought that we could share, i-if you're ok with that, un!" he stuttered. Now it was my turn to blush.

"…Well…s-sure I mean since there aren't any other beds," I answered quietly. We both looked at each other for a moment, both wondering on what to do next. "…Can you tell me were the shower is?"

"Sure, it's down the hall, just take a left, un."

"Thanks Deidara." I walked out the door to go take a hot shower before bed.

Tobi sat on the top bunk silently. "And I thought you weren't the type for love, sempai."


	17. Ch 17: Shrinking Light

"_Why Miziro…you could have always been there for us, but you gave your life for me. If you just had let me die, then Yuru would have his life back and all would be well like it was supposed to be. But you gave up everything for one life…, why? I hate you so much for that, but I still want to see your face so badly. Damn you, damn it all."_

_I looked at my hand. "At least I'm going to pay for making you do this since I'm damned for sure. You can torture me as much as you want to when I'm in hell, you'll be one of god's angels for sure." _

_I looked around in the never ending darkness around me there was only a small light in the distance. "The light's nearly gone. I always try to reach for it, but it always is so far away......" _

_I heard movement from somewhere distant. "Who's there?!" I shouted nervously. Suddenly I was caught in an explosion that came from the light, hot pain shearing through my body. _

"_DEIDARA-KUN!"_

***

I sprang up from the bed in a cold sweat. I looked around; I was still at the base as was Deidara-kun, who was asleep next to me. I wiped the sweat from my face; I had kept having this same dream since I got here. I quietly slipped out of bed and walked into the cool hallway. *_Might as well get to know the layout of the base._* The base was completely quiet and still. I wandered for what seemed to be like two hours until I came across a door that said: "To the Roof". I opened it and walked up the stairs until I made it there. The cool night air was very refreshing against my damp skin.

"So you couldn't sleep either?" I turned around to see Tobi sitting on the floor, staring at the clear night sky. He seemed very solemn know, a strange contrast to his usual personality.

"Uh…yeah," I blushed, "What're you doing up here?"

Tobi looked up at me, "Just couldn't sleep, I've got a lot on my mind." I still wasn't sure why he was acting so different. "Tsubaki, I think it'll be soon," Tobi uttered.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He looked at me with a pained look on his face, "You'll join very, very soon. I can almost feel it. Tsubaki," even without seeing his face, I could tell he was in pain, "Don't join us, Tsubaki. I don't want to lose your freedom like Deidara and me did."

"Tobi what do you mean?" I asked him nervously. I was uneasy; I had never seen Tobi truly frightened like this. This feeling of dread was getting stronger. Tobi leaned in and held me close to him.

"Don't lose the light Tsubaki, because it's not too late for you. Please just don't, death is a better option," Tobi pleaded. I could hear him sobbing from underneath his mask. *_Tobi? Why do you care so much about me? I'm just an average shinobi; not worthy of this._* Tobi seemed to know my question because he answered, "I guess I care so much because you remind me of my old team mate. You kind of look like her, Tsubaki." My heart sank and shattered.

"Tobi, don't worry I'll never lose my light. I promise you," I swore.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," I patted him on the head, "I'll never be a monster like Orochimaru or those other ninja."

"Thank you, Tsubaki-chan."

"Tsubaki! Hey, wake up already, un!!" Deidara shouted at me. I slowly opened my heavy eyelids to see Deidara in front of me.

"…What time is it Deidara-kun?" I asked him groggily.

"It's FREAKIN' 2:00 YOU BAKA, un!" Deidara scolded me, "Leader-sama wanted you TWO HOURS AGO!"

"Oh crap, this always happens when I when I have a meeting!" I groaned. I shoved my shoes on as fast as possible and ran out the door. "Wait…Where I'm I supposed to go?" Deidara facepalmed.

"God sometimes you can be as bad as Tobi, come on, un," he said as he led me down the hall. When we finally got there we were in a large battle field with Kisame, Itachi (already seen him from pictures in Konaha), Tobi, Leader-sama's, and his assistant's hologram standing in front of us.

"You two are late," Leader-sama said with subtle anger.

"You have **no** idea how hard she is to wake up, un. So what did you need?" Deidara asked. Leader-sama looked me straight in the eye, a very intimidating move. I felt chills go down my spine, *_Something's not right._*

"Takishira Tsubaki, the time has come. I want you to join our organization," Leader announced. The entire room was completely was silent.

"Why did you decide to make me join now, Sir Leader?" I asked politely. He was silent for a moment.

"Kakuzu and Hidan are dead. We need someone to fill their place," he announced calmly. Everyone's was clearly shocked at the news, but remained silent anyway. "So, Takishira Tsubaki, do you accept the position?"

I was very quiet. This choice could change everything I knew, but I already knew my only option. "I accept, Leader-sama. I will do any thing for the organization, only if you keep our agreement."

"Deal, however," he began, "you'll have to prove yourself worthy of the Akatsuki. …If you win, no…if you survive a fight against one of us you'll join, and if you lose…Well, that outcome should be clear. If you refuse, I'll extract all of Konaha's secrets from your mind and kill you myself. So, do you still want to join us?" I bit my lip.

"Y-yes Leader-sama." I looked over at Tobi, wondering how bad he was hurting. *_Tobi, I'm so, so sorry to put you through this._*

"Tomorrow you'll learn who you'll be fighting. Everyone is dismissed."

5


	18. Ch18: The Torture of the Tsukuyomi Pt 1

I lay on the bed staring at the bottom of Tobi's bunk. "Can't believe you'll finally be a full member, un," Deidara muttered as he lay next to me, "It'll be great, you'll get to know everything we're doing, use the hologram justu, have your own room, get to wear these badass robes…"

He kept rambling about how great it would be to be a full member, but all I could think about was that this would be the ultimate sign of betrayal to my home. "You're really lucky Hidan got buried under those rocks, un. He always organizes some cracked up initiation that always involves something so stupid even Tobi won't do it, un."

"What did they make you do?" I asked.

Deidara-kun blushed wildly, "…I…uh…well…"

"They made him lap dance with Sasori-san," Tobi said from the top bunk. I sat there and laughed so hard I thought I might puke.

"Damnit Tobi I thought I told you to** never **bring that up again, un!!" Deidara shouted at Tobi.

"Oh sorry sempai, Tobi didn't mean to. Tobi is a good boy."

"OH, I"LL SHOW YOU GOOD BOY YOU MOFO, UN!" Deidara punched Tobi hard in the jaw, making him fall out of the bed.

"Owie that hurt, sempai!"

"Oh just shut up, Tobi, un."

****

I slowly walked to the battle hall along side Deidara-kun. My legs were shaking due to my nerves. "Don't worry Tsubaki, you should be fine, un. I'm sure Leader-sama has enough honor to uphold your deal. Let's just hope you won't chicken out." I said nothing. "Hey, maybe if you're lucky you'll fight Tobi, un!" Deidara teased. He frowned when he saw that I didn't laugh or even smile. "You're worried about betraying Konaha; aren't you, un?" I shook my head in a no.

"It's not just that…I'm more worried about the actual fight. What if I die?"

Deidara looked at me and smirked, "Well we might as well make the best of the time we have right now, un." He leaned in close to me, putting my back against the wall. I blushed slightly at Deidara and smiled.

"I guess we should." We bent in close and kissed. His soft lips encircled mine and mine did the same. And just as quick as the moment began, it was over. We both stood in the silence, our blue eyes reflecting each other. "Next time we should do this in our room. God, imagine if Tobi saw!" I exclaimed.

"Now **that** would be awkward, un," he chuckled. "Come, we need to hurry. We've wasted enough time as it is, un." We ran up the stairs until we reached the door to the meeting hall. "Ready, un?"

I sighed, "Yes, Deidara-kun." Deidara opened the door and we walked in. Leader-sama was waiting along with his assistant, Itachi, Kisame, and Tobi who was clearly upset. The air of the room was very tense because of this.

"So…are you ready for your battle Takishira Tsubaki?" Leader-sama asked me in a monotone voice.

"Yes…"

"And are you positive you don't want to give up now?"

"Yes, Sir Leader."

"Very well, your opponent will be," The atmosphere was almost suffocating, "…Uchiha Itachi." I froze…he was the last person I wanted to have to fight. I looked over to Deidara and Tobi; Tobi was still calm, but Deidara-kun was as frightened as I was.

Itachi stepped forward onto the battle field, "…Prepare yourself, Tsubaki-san."

"Wait!" We all turned around to look at Deidara-kun. "Leader-sama, are you sure she should fight Itachi; what if-,"

"Would you rather fight her, Deidara?" Leader-sama asked him.

"……No, I wouldn't Leader-sama, un."

"Then don't speak out of turn if you wish to live," Leader-sama retorted. Deidara remained silent like a dog whimpering in front of its master.

"As I was going to say before the interruption, you two may begin," Leader said.

I summoned water from the many cracks in the walls to defend myself and charged. "Hyouton: Artic Spear; Impalement!" The ice rose and speared him through the chest. I stopped in my tracks…because the body was turning into crows, flowing from the outside till nothing was left. I whipped my head around wildly looking for him. I looked up and he was above me in the center of the circling crows.

"You fail to remember that I am a master of genjustu. Rushing at me is the worst strategy you could come up with," he lectured, "Now, let me show you what I am capable of…… Mangekyo Sharingan!" The pattern of his eyes changed shape.

In an instant I was standing on an endless black lake. The sky was an unnatural red orange, and the moon was black. I tensed, knowing that I was in the worst possible situation to be in when fighting an Uchiha. I froze as a dark figure rose from the lake. It appeared to be a boy around my age. Slowly he began to speak…

"…Why Tsubaki? Why didn't you save me?"

I was shaking with steady tremors of fear and pain through my body. It couldn't be…

"…M-M-Miziro?!?!"


	19. Ch19: The Torture of the Tsukuyomi Pt 2

I stared into Miziro's cold, dead eyes as he stood in front of me. "H-how are you alive? I've missed you for so long, I-I"

"Save your emotions for later. I'm still dead, Tsubaki. Now tell me, why you gave your heart away to such a pathetic lowlife?" he asked me. Tears ran down my face, damnit he knows. I didn't want for him to see me like this.

"Don't make me choose, Miziro. You died and I had to move on, please try to understand," I begged him, "I don't want you to be in pain." Miziro glared at me coldly.

"It hurts all the time, seeing you betray our home like this…You always could have gone with Yuru if you wanted someone that badly."

"Miziro, you should know I could never do that."

"You could have at least tried to do something to help him."

"No one can help someone who can't help themselves, Miziro."

"Either way, you're my enemy now. So I'll have to kill you, Tsubaki-chan." He made his hand seals, "Kusari no Akarui." A scythe formed from his chakra, which stemmed from the chains made also made from his chakra.

"Please don't make this harder than it already is, Tsubaki-chan." I could see tears streaming from his eyes.

"I won't hurt you Miziro, you're still my comrade," I couldn't quit my sobbing, "I'M DOING THIS FOR KONOHA!!" I shouted. I dropped my head and sobbed uncontrollably, hot tears staining my shirt and skirt.

I gasped as a shuriken flew past my face, scratching the cheek. "Fight me Tsubaki," Miziro began, "because if you don't; I'll kill you, as slowly and painfully as I can." As he uttered those words I realized something; Miziro wasn't the type to drag things out like this, so this Miziro was a definite fake.

"So you figured it out, Tsubaki-san," Itachi said coolly from behind me, "You should know what I'm doing by now. The only way to escape the Tsukuyomi; is to kill your former partner. Otherwise, he'll kill you."

I stood there, motionless in shock. This was exactly the thing I knew I couldn't do. The only thing I couldn't do for Pein-sama was hurt those closest to me, Yuru, Sakura, and now Miziro. I looked up at Miziro who was motionless the entire time, his expression completely blank.

"If you don't strike…then I will!" He lunged at me full speed with his kusarigama [hand scythe]. I stood, almost willingly accepting my fate like a dog to a beating…until I heard something, something distant yet familiar.

"TSUBAKI!" The sound of his smooth, boyish voice kick-started my body allowing me to dodge.

"Deidara-kun…" I whispered, "I will not lose to him, I promise." I made the hand signs in only a slight blur, empowered by Deidara's shout.

"Hyouton: ARTIC DAGGER; KOROSHIMASU!" I shouted, impaling the body of my former comrade with a pillar of ice sharper and faster than usual. His blood flew across the lake and stained his white shirt crimson. All that was left now was the dog who made me do this, Uchiha Itachi.

"You're next, bastard!" I shouted at him. I charged at him with the same blood stained ice I used on Miziro. "DIE!"

I would've wounded him, his blood staining my ice beautifully, but I was stopped. I felt a hard blow to my stomach along with a loud crack from one of my ribs. I flew across the room and hit the stone wall.

"No need to go overboard, Tsubaki-san," Pein commended, "Your fight is over, you're now a full member. All that's left is your ring and uniform." Deidara held out a neatly folded cloak with a ring on the top reading "north" in kanji. "You now belong to the Akatsuki organization. Congratulations."

I slipped the ring onto my left middle finger, and felt a rush of chakra through my veins. It was a bit dizzying but not an unpleasant experience. Once it was on, I could easily sense everyone's charka. "These rings link you to everyone else who wears them in the organization, including me and my assistant, Konan. Everyone is dismissed," he announced as him and Konan's holograms disappeared. (So his assistant does have a name!)

I looked over at Deidara who was smirking beautifully. I ran towards him and gave him one hell of a bear hug, "I did it, Deidara-kun!" I exclaimed.

"That's great Tsubaki, un!" exclaimed Deidara, "I'm mostly glad you hardly got hurt."

"Yeah …me too."

11


	20. Ch 20: The Boy in the mask

"MORNING TSUBAKI-CHAN!! MORNING SEMPAI!!!" Tobi exclaimed from beside Deidara and me's bed. I sprang up from the bed and banged my head on the top bunk. Deidara rose up more slowly, oozing with the anger of interrupted sleep.

"What did I tell you about waking me up, un?" Deidara glowered acidly.

"Well sorry, but Tsubaki-chan has a mission," Tobi replied.

"…ow…Oh really?"

"Yeah, we need to report immediately. Come on!" Tobi said, motioning towards the door. I quickly slipped on my cloak and walked down the long, dim hallway with Tobi and Deidara-kun.

"So you're not late this time, Takishira-san?" Leader-sama teased me.

"No sir, Tobi woke me up in time," I answered, blushing a bit.

"Well then," Leader-sama began, "since you're a full member of the Akatsuki you have to fill your job requirements. We have located the remote area of the Shichibi (_the seven tails_) jinchuuriki. We have heard that it is located in Takigakure. You have to capture it with minimal help from you teammates. Do not fail me."

"Yes Leader-sama!" I responded.

*_Somewhere in the Land of Fire_*

The boy's blade cut through the man's flesh and bone with ease. Crimson blood spattered on the nearby trees as he slumped to the ground. "These simple missions are hardly worthy of an Anbu, but these rouges have to be dealt with. After all, we can't be killing S-rank criminals like the Akatsuki every day," the boy thought to himself.

"Jeez Yuru, you could've let me handle some of the action!" His partner Mari griped, "Akane is getting bored." She motioned towards her large, dark red she-wolf, whom never left her side. Akane barked in agreement. Mari was of average height with wild blue hair that went past her shoulders. Her eyes were dark brown but burned with an inner fire to rival that Uzumaki kid. Her Anbu mask was in the image of a wolf.

"You weren't needed. Come on, we should head back to Tsunade-sama's office," I told Mari. Mari nodded as we began the journey back to Konaha.

"These missions are always more fun with Sumiko-chan around; I always get a little more action," Mari commented.

"Well Sumiko-san is busy back in Suna, after all she has to be home every once in a while," Yuru pointed out.

"Kill joy."

***

After many hours of walking, the pair finally reached Tsunade office. "We completed our mission Hokage-sama. It went off without a fault," Yuru reported.

"Good job, Yuru. Now," Tsunade seemed to mentally brace herself, "I want you, Mari, and Sumiko to search for a certain rouge that's been causing us trouble… Takishira Tsubaki." While you obviously couldn't read from Yuru's face, a fresh, burning wave of rage washed through his entire body. "She has been working with the Akatsuki therefore she is automatically an S-ranking criminal."

"W-what…? That's where she went she went with **them **of all people?!?" the boy thought to himself. His whole body went numb with a mix of rage and agony.

"Where is she?" he asked, his voice cracking a bit in his attempt to keep it steady.

"We only know where she was last seen, somewhere around Mizugakure. However, they can move incredibly fast so she could be all the way in Iwa for all we know!" she exclaimed.

"Don't you think me and Akane can track her?" Mari pointed out, "After all, we have the best nose in the Anbu!" She was always this cocky, the dumbass.

"No it's not that simple, we've already tried and our ninja hounds can't find her. Her scent keeps leading us into a dead end," Tsunade explained.

"I'll look over the files on the Akatsuki before we leave because I'm going home," Yuru told Tsunade as he left the room. He could almost her mutter something like, 'Make sure he doesn't do anything risky.' And the boy knew all too well what she meant by _risky_. "It doesn't matter because I'll always end up back on the pipe."

The boy hadn't smoked since Tsubaki left…he hadn't smoked as much as he did that night since his best friend and almost brother, Miziro died. With every steady huff his agony slowly numbed, until finally he left all grip on this world.

When the boy finally woke up, he saw his girlfriend, Sango Miyuki sitting in above him. As the boy came to, he realized that he was lying on the floor. *_I think she's saying something to me, but it's so faint…_*

"Yuru? Yuru wake up! Oh god, I don't want to be the one to tell Mari…" she babbled.

"…S-Sango? How long have I been out?" he asked shakily.

"Yuru, oh thank god, **thank god**! What happened, you only do this when something really bad happens…" her voice either trailed off or he quit listening since he didn't really care. He was just ready to kill his new enemy, Takishira Tsubaki.

"Hey Yuru; are you even listening?!" Sango shouted at him.

"Sorry Sango," he lied, "I need to prepare for my mission. Thanks for waking me up, see you later," he told her as he was about to go out the door.

"Wait," she called to the boy, who stopped in his tracks. Might as well hear whatever she has to say. "Please don't do anything you may regret…for me, ok?" Sango pleaded.

He glared at her, "You know I won't regret killing Tsubaki."

"Can you keep from killing yourself in the process?"

They were both silent for a while, "I don't know, and I don't care either. So stay out of my way." He slammed the door behind him leaving Sango standing there bewildered.

"…Yuru-kun…"


	21. Ch 21: Training

I sat on the bottom bunk of my bed thinking about how much has changed since I had left. The strangest part of the entire situation, now I was enjoying my capture more than anything and it was all because of Deidara-kun. He was actually making things a lot easier for me. My life was

I still couldn't shake the small feeling of guilt for my abandon friends back home, Yuru, and Sakura, too. I had no idea how she was handling this, especially since she has so much to handle right now. I shook these feelings from my mind. *_I'm sure she's fine. We hadn't spoken in weeks. What could possibly be happening?_*

"Hey Tsubaki-chan!" Tobi greeted as he walked into the room.

"Hi Tobi, what's up?" I asked him pleasantly.

"Kisame-san wants to see you at the training hall, can you come?" he asked me.

"Sure, sure," I stood up from the bed, "what for exactly?"

"I don't really know, but don't worry you're not in trouble."

I walked down the hallway until I made it to our training hall. It was a very large, open room with a high ceiling. This room was much better lit than the rest of the base.

"So glad you could come, Tsubaki-san," Kisame greeted.

"Oh, hi Kisame," I was a little wary of him since he was so close to Itachi, who I still held a grudge against for my **initiation**. "So did you need something?"

"Well, since we're both of similar elementals I could train you. I thought it would help the organization and," he sighed, "I don't want you to hate me because I'm friends with Itachi! I mean it's not a very fair comparison, you hardly even know me." I thought about it for a minute. He had a good point; I hardly knew anything about him at all. "So will you be a little bit nicer? It's enough having pretty much the rest of the world hate you."

"I'm sorry Kisame-san. I was being very unfair," I bowed my head, "please forgive me," I apologized.

"You're forgiven, thanks for the apology. But you don't have to be so formal about it. Anyway," he began, "what to train you in?" He lifted up his huge sword from his back and slammed onto the ground cracking the stone underneath it. "Oops…," he blushed, "I guess I'll have to repair the floor again."

"So, were should we begin?" he asked me. "Oh I know; how about one of Kirigakure's most famous techniques?"

"Oh? Sure, what is it?" I asked him.

"What we're famous for, the Hidden Mist justu!" he smirked. "It's a fairly advanced technique, but if you could last that long against Itachi then I think you should be able to do it." I still had little knowledge of how I beat Itachi; I just felt a rush of anger and went into a frenzy.

"After you made the hand seals, you spread your chakra around the entire area. You have to be sure to put a lot of chakra into it or it won't be a thick enough fog," Kisame instructed me.

I nodded and readied my chakra; it followed through my body into the outside air. I kept pushing it through but I couldn't keep up the stream, so it sputtered and died within a few minutes. Kisame looked disappointed for a moment, "Well I guess this is going to be harder than I thought. You don't seem very large chakra reserves; how the hell did you last against Itachi?" he asked.

"It was just a burst of chakra at the moment, like an adrenaline rush but different," I explained to him. Kisame clearly was thinking this over.

"You have the Hyouton bloodline limit, right?" he asked me. I nodded in agreement. "Well local Kirigakure legends say that true masters of the bloodline will be able to release large amounts of chakra at a time, and have ice blue eyes. You seem to have both, as legend suggests," he pointed out. "Though I don't really believe in that legend bullshit. I think it's probably just a genetic mutation. Same thing either way."

"So you want to test this theory?" Kisame asked me.

"Sure, how are we going to do it?" I asked. Kisame grinned and punched me in the face! I was thrown by the blow halfway across the room. I touched my face, damnit that bastard gave me a nosebleed! I felt a wave a chakra rush my body, the hidden mist justu took effect immediately afterwards. I hadn't realized I was still trying to keep up the justu. The entire room was covered in a thick fog.

"Wow…"Kisame gasped, "So you really do have the Hyouton mutation!" My eyes widened at my work…it would have made Mom and Dad proud to see me get stronger…

"What do I need to do to get stronger, Kisame-san?" I asked him.

"I think if you take a hit, you can release vast amounts of chakra. Hey if you're lucky at one point you'll be able to use water techniques without nearby water, like me! However it'll take awhile and we still don't know how this may manifest itself. Once a Kiri-nin wants blood, there's no stopping them, so be careful," Kisame explained.

"Yeah, I did feel like killing Itachi that one time...," I remembered when I killed the men who murdered Miziro, "Actually,…w-when I was in the chunin exams, my teammate Miziro was killed. I wanted to avenge him so badly that…I-I killed them all. I think it was because of my bloodline." We were both silent.

Kisame shrugged, "Well, it's not like that's uncommon. It happened all the time back in Kiri. By the way I'm just curious but how'd you kill them?"

I glared at him, "Why would that be important?"

"Well I'm just curious! I like those little quirks!"

"Little quirks? How the hell is how I kill just a little quirk?!" I asked angrily.

"Well…I'm a sadist, give me a break! So can you tell me how you did it?" he was almost starting to sound like a little kid.

"Fine, if you must know, I impaled them. There, happy now?" I said annoyed.

Kisame smiled his big toothy grin of his, "Ah, so you like to drag things out, eh? I didn't think a kid like you could be so brutal. I think we're going to get along fine."

"Hey I'm not a kid! After all I'm seventeen years-old," I reminded Kisame.

"You're still a kid to me, Koori Oni*!"

"Koori Oni? Hm…," I thought it over, "Koori Oni…I like the sound of that."

*_Koori Oni: Ice Demon_

5


	22. Ch 22: Tender Moments

Takishira Chronicles

Ch. 22: Tender Moments

"How much longer 'til we get to Kiri? Me and Akane want to see some action!" Mari complained. The boy ignored her "Why do I hang around her so much?" he asked himself.

"Mari, do you still have her scent?" He asked her. "If we lose the scent then we would have to search for clues leftover, which will prove very difficult. Only a complete idiot would leave any traces behind when the Anbu were after them," he said. I heard a gentle snap from under my feet. It was an old dango stick that looked like it had been there for a while.

"Mari, can you get a scent from this?" I asked her, maybe too loudly. I was very impatient with her but I didn't really care if it hurt her or not.

"Yeah, there scent is very prominent on this one," she handed the broken stick down to Akane so she could sniff it, "We'll defiantly have them in a few days!"

"Soon that bitch will be as good as dead!" Yuru thought, grinning darkly.

The Waterfall country was really beautiful from above. There was a large waterfall right at the country's border, surrounded by the deep green forest. Even better, the mist from the waterfall kept us well hidden from the guards at the border. I used to not mind flying with Deidara, but know I love almost as much as he does. "So what does the Shichibi look like?" I asked Deidara, "I don't really know that much about it really."

"It's here in Takigakure and it's the seven tailed beetle, un. However we don't know anything about it's abilities, un."

"Well, guess we'll have to do some detective work," I commented.

"Can Tobi be a detective too, sempai?" Tobi asked Deidara.

"Like hell you-," said Deidara, but was very quickly interrupted.

"Detective Tobi will solve the case of the missing Shichibi! 'Cause TOBI'S A GOOD BOY!!!" Tobi exclaimed proudly.

We both quickly covered his mouth, or at least that part of his mask, so he would be quiet.

"Shut up Tobi! The guards might hear us!" I scolded.

"Sorry, Tsubaki-chan, I got carried away…," Tobi apologized.

I sighed, "Just don't do it again." I was pretty used to Tobi doing this, like a sister and her kid brother…actually, Deidara was more of the cranky sister, and I was her only child of a friend that didn't grasp how truly annoying siblings were.

***

After a few hours of flying, we landed outside of a small village. It wasn't quite as poor as the Kirigakure villages, but it wasn't as rich as Konaha. This village seemed to be about lower-middle class. The houses were built in a very old Japanese style, complete with straw mats and sliding doors. It was very calm and peaceful; I almost wished we weren't here to cause trouble. Wait; if we could get the demon quickly we wouldn't cause trouble…

"Hey Tsubaki," I snapped out of my daze to his voice.

I turned to look at him, "Yeah, Deidara-kun?"

"I got a picture of the host, un." He held out a photo of a girl around 13, she had bright green hair that was barely cleared her shoulders like mine, but with much shorter bangs and shockingly bright orange eyes. She was also very tan and wore a white top with a fishnet undershirt, similar to what Deidara-kun wears under his cloak, and a red backpack. She bore the Takigakure headband around her neck so it was clear she was a ninja.

"Do you know how recent this photo is, Deidara-kun?" I asked him.

"About two years old, so she's a little younger than you, un," he replied.

"Thanks Deidara-kun, this should help us a lot!" I kissed him quickly on the cheek to show my gratitude. Deidara blushed at the sudden sign of affection.

"…um…You're welcome, un?" he said. "Wait," he stiffened, "where the hell is Tobi?!" I immediately started looking around the area, and there was no Tobi.

"Tobi? Tobi!?" I called out, but no answer.

We called for him for hours, and asked anyone if they had seen him. No one had. I was really starting to get worried, but Deidara seemed pretty happy about it. Sunset came so we returned to the room we rented in advance. A mattress on the floor was much better than sleeping in the woods.

The room was very simple with a small closet, three mattresses to sleep on, and a low, long table to eat at. On the table there was a small piece of paper folded up that had "to Deidara-sempai and Tsubaki-chan," written on it. I unfolded the note and read it,

Went out for meeting with Leader-sama,

Doesn't concern you

Be back by morning

-Tobi

"That little shit; he left us high and dry, un!!" Deidara exclaimed.

Then an idea hit me. "Hey Deidara-kun, you want to go on a date?" I asked on the spur of the moment.

"Wha-?...um…That was kind of sudden wasn't it, un?" He said.

"Well, y-yeah but you know…You can't just sit around worrying about whether he'll say yes."

"…Well I guess you're right, un," he said.

"So is that a yes?"I asked.

"Yup. Were do you want to go, un?" he asked plesently.

"…Why don't we fly around for a bit?" I suggested.

"Alright, un." He was smiling widely at the thought of flying again.

***

The night air was relaxing, even though it had a bite to it. I looked up at the sky. It was completely black except for the crescent moon, which was gently illuminating the trees below.

"Ok, we're here, un." I looked at him, confused. He never said anything about going anywhere. We had landed in the middle of the forest, so I had no idea where we were supposed to be.

"Deidara-kun, were exactly is here?" I asked him.

He just smiled back at me and said, "You'll see, un." He parted the vines in front of him, and I saw what he meant.

There was a large waterfall that spilled into a large lake, its mist shining against the moonlight. It was beautiful. There were no other words for it. Even the air of this place was perfect, woody with a hit of a flowery smell.

I looked over at Deidara. His eyes reflected the moonlight like two perfect blue mirrors. His hair was slightly messy due to the trip here. He was smiling…He had such a nice smile…

"What do you think, un?" he asked me.

"Deidara-kun, It's so beautiful…How did you find this place?" I asked him.

"I saw it on the way here, un. I didn't think I'd actually get the chance to come here with you, though," he chuckled. "Tobi would ruin the moment, un!" He laughed again, and I laughed with him.

"He tends to do that, doesn't he?" I said jokingly.

I felt Deidara put something in my hand. I looked down at it. I was one of his sculptures, made into the shape of what looked like a dove.

"I made it for you, un," he said pleasantly, "It's stored with some of my chakra, so you'll always have a little bit of me with you, un."

I blushed, "…You didn't have to give me anything."

"No, but I wanted to do it, un," he said. I looked over at the lake.

"Wait right there, Deidara-kun." I walked onto the surface of the lake. "Hyouton." The water flowed into my hands, until it compressed and froze into the shape of a small bird like the ones Deidara-kun made. I walked back to Deidara and placed the statue in his hand.

"That has some of my chakra in it, too," I said, "So you'll always have a little bit of me with you, Deidara-kun." Deidara smiled, his cheeks reddening.

"Thank you, Tsubaki, un."

I smiled back, "You're welcome, Deidara-kun."


	23. Ch 23 The Kunoichi Three

I awoke around what I think was around 11:00. _"…Wow, that was amazing. I wonder…was it all a dream?"_ I could feel Deidara's steady breathing next to me; his arms wrapped around me. He was so warm. I smiled to myself, _"I love you, Deidara-kun."_

"Morning, Tsubaki-hime," Deidara smirked.

I turned over to face him, "Morning, Deidara-kun." I smiled at him during this perfect moment. Things couldn't get any better than this.

"We should probably get out of bed before Tobi comes back," I suggested.

"Yeah we shou-…Wait, un," Deidara paused, "you hear something?" I stiffed so I could hear what he was talking about. Footsteps; getting closer…

"HIYA SEMPAI, TOBI'S BACK!!!" Tobi exclaimed after pushing open the sliding door. Deidara and me sat under the blanket in pure horror.

_"…Oh crap." _Tobi stood there for a moment completely silent…and really I couldn't blame him. He was completely unreadable in the silence.

"HOLY CRAP, SEMPAI GOT LAID!!!!" I guess he fine.

"Tobi SHUT THE HELL UP BEFORE I MAKE YOU SHUT UP, UN! WE DIDN'T HAVE SEX, YOU LITTLE PERV!!!" Deidara shouted. Tobi paid no attention as usual.

"Wow, so how'd you do it? Which one was on top; hm…probably Tsubaki-chan! Who asked first? How small was-," Tobi was talking a mile per minute, until Deidara got up and punched him in the gut, sending him flying out the open door into a nearby tree.

"Tobi, stay there until I say you can come back in, un!!!" Deidara yelled. He came back in the room and slid the door shut, mumbling a long string of profanities on the way. "Little shit, un." He put on his cloak quickly and angrily. I put mine on, too, but not quite as angrily.

Deidara went over to the door, "Tobi, you can come back in now, un." Tobi came in as I was slipping on my cloak. He walked in quietly, too quietly…no, no. This just isn't me…is it?

I stood there in the silence for about five minutes until I decided to break it. "…um…I guess I'll make us breakfast."

"Thank you so much for protecting me!" the strange girl said cheerfully.

"Really it's nothing! We're all just doing our mission, right Emi?" Kita said, glaring at her teammate, Emi who was staring at the swaying leaves.

The girl, Emi's, long blond hair was gently ruffled by the wind, and her pale blue, pupilless eyes were fixated on the up and down motions of the green leaves. Her head swayed from side to side in time with the leaves.

"OI, EMI! FOCUS WILL YOU!!!" their third teammate, Hotaru, shouted at Emi so she would listen. "God, you're always like this, Emi."

A full ten seconds passed before Emi showed **any **sign that she heard Hotaru. "…hm? Oh, sorry Hotaru…chan…," she looked down and began to trace the lines in the wood floor with her finger.

Kita sweatdropped, "Anyway…we're just here to protect you until a jonin comes to take our place. But don't worry, Fuu-san, you're in safe hands. No one will get your demon if we have anything to say about it."

Hotaru glared at Kita, "Emi, why is Kita the one who always gets to act so cool?"

"…It's probably a balance thing…if everyone on the team was cool, then it would be weird, because they wouldn't seem cool to each other at all," Emi explained.

Hotaru just stared at her, "……That makes no sense at all."

"But it sounded smart didn't it?"

"…I guess?"

Kita looked over at Hotaru and Emi, "WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP! WE'RE ON A MISSION!!"

Fuu chuckled at their antics. However, she didn't trust these ninja at all, she didn't trust any one even the slightest. It mattered nothing to her if the village leader hired them. "I'll run as soon as I have the chance!" she thought to herself, "Everyone's an enemy, no exceptions!"

11


	24. Ch 24: Finding the Jinchuuriki

We had been in this small village for three days, and we still hadn't found the jinchuuriki. As usual, we were wandering the streets looking for her. "How long does it usually take for you to find a jinchuuriki?" I asked Deidara.

"Usually a week, but that's when we don't have a face, un."

I groaned, "Are you serious?" He nodded.

"…Wanna get some lunch?" I asked him.

"Sure, Tobi's probably about ready to change shifts with me, un."

We had been taking shifts looking for the Shichibi. First would be me and Deidara, then me and Tobi, and last would be Deidara and Tobi. When we met to change shifts, we would have a meal together. Today we were going to probably going to get something from the restaurant across the street of our hotel.

"Hiya Sempai, Tsubaki-chan!" Tobi greeted cheerfully when we entered our room. "What's up?" Tobi had defiantly cheered up since that day after Deidara and me's date.

"Nothing much, we still haven't found anything," I reported.

"Aw well, so we're we getting lunch? Tobi is a hungry boy!"

"That restaurant across the street, come on I'm buying," I said.

Kita, Hotaru, Emi, and their client, Fuu sat in the small restaurant for a snack. "Wow, Fuu, you never told me this town had such good food!" Hotaru said gleefully, her cheeks full of food.

"I know, isn't it good? This place has the best food in town!" said Fuu, "Their tea is really good, too!" Fuu smiled at the thought of all the delicious food. Kita sat across the table, listening to their conversation.

_"Who says missions can't be fun?"_ Kita thought to herself as she bit into her dango. She looked over at Emi, who was staring into her reflection in her tea. "So Harumi-san," Kita began, "we need to talk about traveling arrangements so we can get to your jonin, quickly and efficiently."

Hotaru threw a dango stick at Kita's head, "Don't you even get started about work! Not when I'm on break!"

Kita sighed, "Fine, we'll talk about this later."

We walked into the small restaurant. It didn't look like much, just a small town family business. There was nobody else in there except a group of about four girls; nothing special at all.

We sat down at a table and ordered. Tobi ordered curry, Deidara ordered the oden, and I ordered the grilled fish.

Tobi turned around to eat his food. It was a strange habit of his, he would either eat when no one was around when he could save it for later, or he would turn around when he couldn't save it. "Mmm…This is some of the best curry I've ever had! The sauce is just wonderful…," Tobi went back to inhaling his curry. Deidara and me looked at each other; our expressions showed were clearly both disappointed to not see his face.

I picked up my fish and tore off a chunk.

"HOTARU WILL YOU FREAKIN' GROW UP!!!" I turned around to look at the group of girls that was in the restaurant. The one with wavy, blue, hair looked furious with short, pink-haired one (Hotaru I guess). The blue-haired one sat next to a blond girl, who seemed very…spacey. They all bore Konaha headbands, except the one next to the pink haired-

She bore a Takigakure headband, and she had green hair with orange eyes. She was the Shichibi!

"Hey Tsubaki, you know them, un?" Deidara asked through his mouthfuls of food.

I smirked, "I've seen them before at the ninja academy, but I don't know them. I'll tell you more when we get back to our room."

We finished eating and walked out the door. I took one glance back at the group of girls…and the blond looked back at me! Her pale blue eyes seemed to almost look right through you, which was pretty creepy even more so since she rarely blinked. I quickly averted my gaze and walked out quickly out the doorway with Deidara and Tobi. She could be trouble considering that she saw us.

"Emi, what are you staring at now?" Kita asked Emi, who had been staring at a tall, slender girl with short brown hair that just left with two others. They all wore black cloaks with blood red clouds on them.

"That one girl seemed really like she'd been through a lot," Emi commented, "…she had really pretty eyes, too."

"You shouldn't stare at people like that, Emi. It's rude."

15


	25. Ch 25: Spying

"I found it", I told Deidara and Tobi proudly, "the Shichibi is with those girls!" I was smiling widely at the prospect of such an easy win.

"Well, what are you going to do next, un?" Deidara asked, "After all we aren't supposed to help you much." He said this almost happily, which I knew meant he wanted to see my skills in planning.

"It's pretty simple, all we have to do is wait for her to go off alone. Then we capture her in a way that attracts as little attention as possible. By the time those half-wits notice we'll be long gone," I explained.

"What if they call in reinforcements? Then what are you going to do, have Dei-dei sempai save you?" Tobi teased.

I glared at him, "That would take them days to get the message to Lady Tsunade, and even longer for them to show up. The chances are very low."

"But that's still a chance, right?" Tobi said slyly. I had a feeling he was enjoying himself.

"I'll spy on them for a few days to see their patterns of movement so I know when they are vulnerable. When that chance comes, I will capture the jinchuuriki and if necessary, kill the Konoha ninja. I'll make sure help will come much too late," I retorted.

"And if help comes anyway? What then, will sempai have to help you then? If he does then the few local ninja would notice that. I don't want to cover for you guys." Tobi said.

"He has a good point, un," Deidara said, "As much as I hate to admit that. I'm not supposed to help you, and neither is Tobi. We could get in serious trouble for it, un."

I sighed, "I know, but I doubt that will happen. But if it does, like Tobi said you may have to back me up. But only if I can't do it alone."

"Alright, but don't blame us if you get in trouble," said Tobi happily.

I trailed those girls and the jinchuuriki for three days to memorize their movements and weaknesses. Emi, the blond, always daydreamed, Hotaru, the short, pink haired one, was somewhat lazy and ignored orders, and the tall one, Kita, was the most level-headed and clearly the leader. The Shichibi-jinchuuriki was very cheerful and friendly with them, but if you looked closely it was clear she wanted to get away from them very badly. She tended to roll her eyes or glare whenever they weren't looking. None of the girls noticed this, so I could use this.

They would mostly stay at the inn they had for most of the day, and occasionally go to the restaurant or the small bath house they had. Getting to the Shichibi would be difficult if she didn't get out that much.

"Hotaru, Emi, I just got a message from Konaha!" Kita announced as she walked into the courtyard. "The jonin was delayed by some personal matters. We'll have to stay here a little longer…"

"Oh well, more time doing absolutely nothing, right, Emi?" said Hotaru. Emi continued to daydream.

*_So they're expecting a jonin to come for the Shichibi…this might be my chance._*

***

It was around midnight, and Kita and Emi were asleep. However, Hotaru and the Shichibi were wide awake. It was time for my plan to take effect. I jumped down from the roof and stepped through the sliding door.

"Nakamura Hotaru?" the Shichibi and the girl turned around, "I'm here to take over for you guys. My name is Taniuchi Tsubaki."

"But didn't the Hokage say our jonin was delayed?" Hotaru asked, "If that's the case, then why are you here so early?"

I smiled pleasantly, "I was nearby so I was told by Tsunade-sama to come on your jonin's behalf," I lied, "So, jinchuriki-san if you would come with me, please. We need to go to a safer village to avoid anyone who might want to harm you."

The Shichibi was quiet for a moment, "Fine, I'll go," she spat, "tell the others bye for me ok?" She wasn't very happy with being with another Konaha ninja, but seemed content with being with only one for now.

We walked out of the building and left the village. The shichibi and I walked until we reached the middle of the forest. This area was almost as dark as being underground, the trees and vines grew so thick in that almost no light came through. I stopped in front of the jinchurriki; she bumped into me when I did so.

"Why are we stopping?" the girl, Fuu, asked me. I smirked in the darkness, *_Oh this is too easy…_*

"Well? Is someone there?" she asked a bit more frightened.

I turned and looked at her eye to eye, "No, unfortunately for you the one here is me." A complete look of shock fell over her face.

"W-what do you m-," I didn't let her finish her question. I quickly jabbed the pressure points at her neck, making almost immediately fall limp to the ground.

I knelled down and clutched her hands. "Hyouton: Partial Arctic Prison." My ice slowly covered her hands, binding them together.

"You sure you shouldn't weaken her a bit more, un?" Deidara asked me from the shadows.

"Don't worry Deidara-kun; if she tries to get away I'll make sure to snap her legs. Right now I think binding her up will be enough. And besides, if she broke out of the ice her hands would be to numb to make any seals." I stated.

"I'm surprised you got her that easy, un. Usually we have to actually fight them, but you just had to trick that stupid chunin!" Deidara laughed out loud. "What an idiot, un!"

"Yeah, she was pretty foolish to not consider me a threat, but they do have a jonin coming. We should leave quickly."

"Alright then, un. Hey Tobi, did you get all of that?" he asked.

"Yes sir, sempai, sir!" Tobi exclaimed from the tree above us.

5


	26. Ch 26: Crisis

We were walking in the dark forest. I was forced to carry the limp jinchuuriki girl on my back, since we couldn't use any of Deidara's birds to carry her for me, due to the heavy cover of trees and vines. According to Deidara, our meeting place should only be another day's walk ahead, not like we'd ever know when that was. For all I could tell, the sun could have blown up.

"Oi, Deidara." I said, "How long have we been walking?"

"I think it's been four hours since we last took a break, un."

I sighed, "Jeez, at this rate we'll never get there on time!"

"Who cares, we'll get there when we get there, un," Deidara said lazily, "Right, Tobi un?"

"Right, Deidara-sempai!" Tobi replied from behind.

The three young kunoichi lay on the floor of their room at the small inn, relaxing on their spare day in this village.

Hotaru sighed, "Man, I can't believe we finally get a break!"

"I know we were so lucky that replacement jonin came, right Emi?" Kita asked, in her happy mood. Emi remained silent, probably daydreaming as usual.

"…What was her name?" Emi asked.

"Oh, it was Taniuchi Tsubaki. She was pretty nice," Hotaru replied.

"Oh……" Emi went back to daydreaming. "How can we be so sure that was a replacement jonin?" she thought to herself.

"Natsumaru Kita, Nakamura Hotaru, Yamanaka Emi, I've come for the Shichibi!" The three immediately turned around at the female jonin. She wielded a set of blades, and had dark brown eyes.

The girls were completely stunned at the jonin standing there, barely able to think.

The first to grasp what had happened was Hotaru.

"…What have I done?"

XXXXXXXX

The four kunoichi sprinted through the forest, attempting to catch up to the stolen jinchuuriki.

"Nakamura-san! How close are we to the Shichibi?" the jonin asked Hotaru.

"They're pretty far ahead, Miyuki-san! But they're moving pretty slowly so we might be able to catch up to them if we keep up the pace!" Hotaru said.

"Damnit! We'll be too exhausted by then to recapture the jinchuuriki!" Miyuki said. This was the worst possible situation for her; after all, she already had enough on her mind with her crazy boyfriend and all.

Tobi glanced behind him.

"Something wrong, Tobi?" I asked him. Tobi turned back around.

"It's probably just the wind," he said.


	27. Ch 27: Chatterbox

The forest was quiet. It almost seemed like not a single creature was stirring, despite the time of day. Maybe they had run off, because of the jinchuuriki. I still could hardly believe capturing the girl was so easy…too easy in fact. I kept my guard up, despite the exhaustion.

"Tobi, have you found anyone nearby?" I asked.

"Nope, not even a mouse, Tsubaki-chan," Tobi said.

"I can't find traces of anyone either, un," said Deidara, "Heh, they really are that stupid, un. Konaha's standards must have gone down the drain lately, un." He chuckled at his remark. "How pathetic, un."

"Let's just get this thing to Leader-sama before they find us. Fighting with this thing on my back would be annoying." Plus I didn't want to kill those girls. They clearly hadn't experienced trauma in their lives. They probably haven't even taken a life before. *_Those three aren't cut out to be shinobi._*

"Nakamura-san! How close are we?" the jonin asked Hotaru.

"I-I think I can feel the Akatsuki's chakras! …There're three of them. Each of them is very strong, but…"

"But what?!" the jonin spat.

"I can't fully sense one of them. It's like they're hiding their chakra from us. It's coming in kind of fuzzy, like a seeing it through a filter…"

"It could be a genjustu, Hotaru-chan," Emi muttered. "So we can guess one of them is a specialist in that area."

"Then why would they hide their chakra part-way? And why not hide the Shichibi's chakra along with his team? It doesn't make any sense…" the jonin wondered.

"Maybe it's to hide his power. But if that's the case, then he's stronger than all four of us put together." Kita said gravely. The four were silent for a moment.

"Don't worry; I have a friend in the Anbu. He has a mission in the area. He'll help us, I know he will," the Anbu said hopefully. No, she absolutely knew he would come. He wouldn't turn this down regardless of his orders. She knew he would come. She knew he would…

"I think we're close enough now to plan an ambush on those three. We have a better chance of winning since we out number them, so here's the plan…," the jonin began to lay out their plan of attack.

We sat under a large tree. Both Tobi and Deidara lay asleep on the ground. I sat awake to make sure the jinchuuriki wouldn't sneak away while the other two were sleeping.

"un…W-who…?" I whipped my head around to the girl, she was waking up!

*_Calm down, she can't move or make any jutsu. I just have to keep watch on her._* The girl panicked as soon as she realized where she was.

"W-Where the heck am I?! Who are you?!" she shouted.

I sighed, "Will you try to keep your voice down? My friends are trying to sleep. There's no reason to be so loud. We're members of the Akatsuki, and we're in a forest. You could've noticed that a little sooner."

"W-what do you want with me?" she asked, trying to hide her obvious fear.

I knew she would panic the moment she knew what we wanted, so I lied. "We're taking you to a happy place. It's a place where the world's outcasts can live in peace away from the rest of the world."

"Liar; you just want my demon!" she spat.

I shook my head, "The rest of the world doesn't want for these people to live free. They just want to use you and watch you burn as soon as they're done with you. These people spread rumors so others will try to erase us too. They're just misguided fools." I was impressed at how well I was at acting.

"So…y-you don't want to kill me?" she asked me shakily.

"Not at all!" I giggled, "We're here to save you, jinchuuriki-san!"

"….What was your name again?" she asked me.

She was going to die soon anyway, what did it matter? "Takishira Tsubaki."

"My name is Fuu," she smiled, "It's nice to meet you, Tsubaki-san."

"Likewise, jinchuur-erm…Fuu-san."

"So…since we've gotten to know each other, will you get rid of this ice?" she asked me.

"No, I can't do that," I responded bluntly.

"Why not? Don't you trust me, Tsubaki-san?"

This one was really didn't trust anybody. "My ice is restraining your chakra. If I removed it, then many shinobi would be able to find us. It's too dangerous to do that."

"Oh…Then why did you knock me out for so long?" she asked.

She was getting on my nerves by now. "Those three you where with were way too close. By the time I explained everything to you, they would've caught up to us." _Especially with the amount of questions you have…_

"How do you know they weren't dumb enough to believe your story?"

*_Because you were_ _dumb enough._* I turned to her, "Konaha ninja are smarter than that. Believe me, I should know."

"Ok, why did you guys murder the Kazekage? Is he in some haven with all the other jinchuuriki?" she smirked.

"…………" I didn't say anything. This girl was a smart one, I gave her that, but she wasn't going to escape us.

"So you guys are as bad as everyone says you are," she smiled devilishly.

I clenched my fist, "No we're not."

"Then why did you kill the Kazekage? Only an evil person would do something like that."

I glared at her, "I don't know. I had heard that the previous Kazekage was a cruel man, especially to the Ichibi. It may have been a mistake. Maybe the organization wasn't aware the position had been given to the Ichibi. I don't know. I wasn't a member back then."

For once the girl was silent. "Can I have some water? I'm thirsty."

I took some water from the ground and focused it into my palm. I held my hand out to her, "Go ahead and drink. This is all you'll be able to get for awhile."

She nodded and slurped the water from my hand. "Thanks."

11


	28. Ch 28: Hidden Strenght

"Hey Tsubaki…" Deidara said.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure it was a good idea to get all friendly with the jinchuuriki, un? She's annoying as hell, especially since Tobi started talking to her, un." Deidara said.

Tobi was carrying the jinchuuriki on his back, and he had been talking to her nonstop.

"Yeah, and so I was all, like, hey sempai, why so mad, and he was all like, RAWR I'M GUNNA EAT YOUR FACE!!" Tobi said gleefully.

The shichibi giggled, "Dei-Dei sempai's so mean!" They both looked over at Deidara, "So mean, sempai~."

"She's right you know," Tobi commented.

"Shut up, Tobi! And quit telling her all those dumb stories, un!" Deidara scolded. "Besides, since when do I say rawr?"

"Rawr means I love you in dinosaur, sempai. Fuu-chan, did you know that?" Tobi asked.

"Yes, yes I did. How could you not?" the jinchuuriki replied. "Does that make Dei-chan a dumbass?"

Tobi nodded, "I believe it does. You are wise."

"Both of you SHUT UP or I'm going to blow you two half to hell, un!" Deidara shouted.

*_What's that about Deidara-chan?_*

"Oh, come on, sempai; you know we were only-," Tobi stopped mid-sentence.

"What is it, Tobi?" I asked.

A kunai flew past my face and sunk itself into a tree. I wiped my head around to see our attackers. Only one of them was out in the open. Her long, wavy, pale blue hair was up in a ponytail, and her skin was naturally very tan. She almost looked like a nymph.

"You three aren't moving any further!" the ninja, Natsumaru Kita. "I'm only going to ask you once, hand Fuu over, or else!"

Deidara scoffed at her, "Please, a bunch of little chunin don't stand a chance, un." He turned over to Tobi, "Get the jinchuuriki and get out of here, un."

"Right sempai!" Tobi jumped to the trees with the Shichibi. What happened next came so fast I'm not sure how it happened. A flurry of shuriken flew from the trees. They spun around Tobi, coiling him with wires. The shock made him drop Fuu, so she fell to the forest floor, along with Tobi.

Tobi struggled to free himself but it wasn't working, they were too tight. Kita smirked, "So, what was that about us not standing a chance, pretty boy?" Deidara gritted his teeth. "Emi; you know what to do!"

The blond one, Emi, came out of her hiding spot into the open. "Ninja Art, Mind Transfer Jutsu!" The girl's body went limp, and so did Tobi's.

Then Tobi stood up, the wires loosened. *_What the hell is happening?_* He walked over to Fuu and picked her up.

Kita went to pick up her limp partner, but…she didn't seem to be worried about her at all. "Emi, did you make it in safely?"

"Yeah, it was a complete success, Kita-chan!" Tobi responded, or the blond one in Tobi's body. She walked over and stood next to her teammate, "Now, you should just let us go or your partner dies," she said as she held a kunai to Tobi's throat. I looked over at Deidara, he wasn't fazed by this. Did he know something I didn't?

He threw a kunai at Kita, but she ducked under it. "I won't have to get any closer to kill you both, un. Tobi would've just been dead weight anyway, we can fight just fine with two of us, un."

"If he was such dead weight then you won't mind him to kill him yourself then!" Emi shouted. "Come on and fight us, you bast-," she stopped mid-sentence, like she was paralyzed or something. "What the-?"

Emi's eyes burned, she could feel one of them bleeding. She feel to her (or really his) knees, clutching her right eye. She turned to look at her actual body; its right eye was bleeding too! She tried to escape this body before anything else happened to it, but she couldn't move.

"E-Emi! Get out of there!!" Kita shouted at her. She could barely hear it though, she though she was going to die at any minute.

"I would've warned you to stay out, but you didn't really give me a chance to," a voice in her head told her. Her eyes widened, Emi couldn't see the forest or her teammates anymore. She was in some kind of lake, with the moon overhead. She looked down at her hands, they were her's not the one called Tobi's…They had blood on them.

"W-who are you?" she asked.

"Who am I?" the voice said, "I'm just an innocent puppet here to welcome you to hell."

A chill went down Emi's spine. She couldn't stop thinking, "I'm going to die; I'm gunna die; I'm gunna die!"

"Calm down; I'm not going to kill you. That would be too easy on you," he chuckled, "First I'll take your eyes, then your arm…"

Emi's heart was pounding out of her chest, "No! Please, don't! I'll tell you anything!" She was trying to escape, but couldn't do a thing.

"You don't have to tell me anything, because I already got what I wanted to know. And…" he paused, "I already taken your one of your eyes, little girl." The voice let out a laugh that pierced though the air, leaving Emi feeling nothing but pure despair.

She felt something smack her across the head, ripping her from that horrible place, back into her own body. "Emi, wake up!" she heard Kita shout.

That girl laid there shaking like she had just seen the reaper. I didn't know who was more shocked, us or them. Deidara looked every bit as confused as I was. I leaned over to him and whispered, "Do you have any idea what just happened?"

"Not at all; I say we just play along with it, un," he whispered back.

I nodded. This would give us an advantage.

"You stupid kids, don't you get it? You can't beat us with those methods. Just accept it, you won't be able win. If you leave now you two and your little traitor friend might live." I drew some kunai. "So what's your answer?"

"NEITHER ONE!" I turned around to see the short one, Hotaru coming at me. Before I could do anything, she punched me in the face, sending me to the ground. I had to be honest, she punched harder than I expected (which wasn't that much to begin with).

Tobi finally stood up, but it was almost like he had a bad hangover. "Tobi, give Tsubaki the jinchuuriki, un," Deidara ordered him, "Tsubaki, I'll take these bitches, un. We'll catch up to you when we're done, un."

Tobi tossed her to me. "Be careful Tsubaki-chan," Tobi told me.

I smiled at him, "You too, Tobi." I ran away with the girl. Hotaru tried to run after me, but Deidara set off an explosion behind me, blocking her way. I looked back, but I couldn't see Deidara because of the smoke.

I closed my eyes, "Be careful, Deidara-kun."

16


	29. Ch 29: Shimo Otome

I looked behind me. There was still no sign of anyone following me, so either there's nobody following me, or they're being smart. I looked over at Fuu, she looked pretty shaken.

"Fuu-chan, how are you holding up?" I asked her.

She paused, "…I'll be fine." Her voice shook a little, so she was clearly uneasy. If anybody else tried to capture her again she might have a mental breakdown. That could get dangerous. I looked ahead of me; there was no sign of any traps. Where they really this dumb? I glanced to my left, and I noticed something. A dull corner of a paper bomb…

The bomb exploded as soon as I noticed it, the boom resounding loudly throughout forest.

A tall girl came out of hiding, and by the look of her she was likely a jonin. She had a triumphant smirk on her face. I didn't like it. The blast didn't completely hit me because I put up an ice barrier. I growled, *_You're not going to be able to pull that off twice, wench._*

"Ah, so you're the one I've heard so much about," she said, "You're the Akatsuki's new recruit, right?"

I glared at her, "Yes. I guess Tsunade picked up on my movements fairly soon after my first meeting?"

"How should I know? I'm not the Hokage's lap dog or anything like that," she replied. This girl…She made we want to smack her. Her manner about things was so casual it seemed like an act.

I threw a shuriken next to her face. "What's your name?"

She smirked, "Miyuki…," she drew one of her blades, "Miyuki Sango. What about you?"

"If you've heard so much about me, then you should already know that." I readied some water, "I don't feel like talking right now anyway."

"Alright then, I'm fine with that." She charged at me with her blade, and aimed for my throat. I ducked in with not even seconds to spare, but I felt something graze my stomach. I looked down; it was another blade, attached onto her arm. I need to be careful of her, she's armed and loaded.

I sent a pillar shooting towards her stomach, but she bent back to dodge. I sent another pillar behind her, this time quicker so she couldn't dodge. That girl should've been stabbed to death by my attack, but she didn't. She spun around with her main blade and cut my ice in two…nobody's ever done that.

She leapt at me with her blade, attempting another blow. I could move my ice fast enough to hit her, so I had to use my taijutsu. I whipped up my leg and kicked her in the jaw. She hit a tree with a loud thump. I sighed with a bit of relief; taijutsu is probably my worst skill out of the three types.

"Hyouton: Arctic Prison!" My ice slowly crept up her body. She tried to escape, but my ice was already on her. Now it was encasing her left arm, too. She reached for her sword, but I wasn't going to let her.

"Hyouton: Shimo Otome!" I shouted. The ice formed spikes on the inside of the layer of ice, so they would impale her. However, she moved fast. She slashed her blade across the ice around her legs, freeing them just in time. But luckily for me, her left arm wasn't as lucky. The spikes riddled her arm with holes, making it completely useless. I was actually shocked that it didn't fall off.

She clutched her arm and was gasping for breath. I walked towards her, picking up her spare blade which fell off of her left arm. She looked up at me, her eyes…they held something familiar…they held the same exact same pain I did. She had known loneliness…she's seen death. Yet…she was trying to hide it, for whom though?

I sunk the blade into her right leg, far enough so she shouldn't be able to get it back out. Then I picked up the Shichibi and turned around to go back into the forest.

"W-where…do you t-think you're going?" she muttered. "Aren't…you g-going to kill me, Ms. Akatsuki?"

I sighed, "I don't want to." Her eyes widened, her expression was completely stunned. She didn't seem like she was able to fully grasp the situation. Maybe it was my sincerity of my words that confused her so much.

Either way, I didn't care whether she understood or not. I just wanted to get rid of this girl so my mission would be over and done with.

I turned back around to get back to our meeting point, but I heard Sango mutter something, "R-run…Takishira...san…!" I heard a kunai fly past my face, slitting my cheek. I turned around, but my attacker moved in too quick for me to get a good look. He drew two blades, aiming both at me. Did he even care about the Shichibi?! If he landed any of his hits he'd kill us both!! I put up an ice barrier as fast as I could. His swords got stuck inside the ice. This was when I finally got a good look at him. He had messy brown hair that was a bit greasy. His entire face was covered by a white Anbu mask. If I went by his build, he looked around my age.

"That was careless of you, Anbu. You could've killed the jinchuuriki. Who are you anyway?" I asked him.

He sheathed his sword, using his free hand to remove his mask. "So the rumors are true. You really have become even worse trash than I am, Tsubaki-chan." My heart practically stopped right then.

"In case you've forgotten, I'll reintroduce myself. My name is Hamaguchi Yuru, member of the Konaha Anbu and former member of Team Gensai. My mission here today is simple, to get rid of the garbage that's been lying around for much too long."


	30. Ch 30: Challenge

I couldn't believe what was happening. My only surviving teammate was standing here, right in front of me and wanted me dead. When Tsunade had told me he didn't want to see me, I never thought he was this bad off.

I looked at his face. He had really changed since I last saw him. Any sign of innocence was gone, his eyes were faded now. He had dark rings beneath those eyes that seemed to have been there for some time. And he'd gotten more than just a few shades paler. As a whole, he looked neglected. Even his headband was dull.

…How could I have let this happen to him?

"Well? Aren't you going to attack me, or are you too scared to do it?" he said. "Go ahead and hit me!"

I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to fight Yuru and not only that, the jinchuuriki might get seriously hurt. I want her to get to base intact. "I don't have the time to be fighting with you, Yuru. So I suggest you go back home," I told him.

"I have plenty of time to wait, Tsubaki-chan. I honestly could care less about the jinchuuriki," he said coldly. Sango's eyes widened, she tried to get up but fell back to the ground. I was almost as shocked as she was, but relieved that I wouldn't have to fight him now.

"Yuru just what in the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sango shouted, "You're letting them win!!! They want to destroy Konaha!! Don't you have any idea of what you're doing?!!" His expression hadn't changed at all. "Well?! ANSWER ME DAMNIT!!!"

"It wasn't a part of my mission to save some demon. I'm here to kill Tsubaki, nothing more," he glared at Sango, "Is that a good enough answer for you, wench?" I was surprised at how cold he was, and even more so that Sango was getting so emotional. How could you care so much about someone you don't know? Did she know him?

Tears were streaming down from her cheeks, "I don't even know you anymore. Don't you even care about your home anymore?"

"No I don't. All I want is for Tsubaki to be dead, and for you to shut the hell up about it," his words cut at her like a knife. I could tell that hurt worse than her injuries. "I just let you close to me because it was convenient. I've never had any feelings for you Miyuki Sango."

Sango was stunned. She didn't make a sound, but her face said it all. She couldn't take any more of this. Her head tilted downwards and she began bawling loudly.

I didn't know what to make of this. But now I knew where that pain came from. It was from him. Yuru sighed, "Now, as I was saying. If you agree to fight me, I'll let you finish your mission."

I nodded, "I'll fight you. Where are we going to fight?"

"…We fight here; six days from now, got it?" He stated.

"That's fine by me."

Yuru turned around to leave, "Be prepared for your death day, Takishira." He leaped away into the forest.

"T-Tsubaki-san…" Fuu mumbled, "Why did that Anbu hate you so much?"

"…It's a very long story, Fuu," I told her solemnly.

Fuu looked over at Miyuki Sango. "Is she going to die?"

"She would need immediate care to have even a chance." Fuu's eyes welled up with tears. "There's nothing we can do for her."

"…Tsubaki-san, sit me next to her," Fuu said, "I think I can save her! Please, just let me try!" I hesitated; if she was healed she might attack us again.

"You're only allowed to heal her enough to save her. If she's able walk she might go after us again," I warned her.

"Alright." She began to focus her chakra, letting it flow into Sango's wounds. I was amazed at what happened next. The worst of her wounds began to shrink, and her lesser injuries vanished. The more I focused on the chakra, the more I noticed it wasn't her's. She was using the Shichibi's chakra. I didn't know she had the power to heal others. I thought that the jinchuuriki could only heal themselves like that. I was wrong.

Fuu released the flow of her chakra and collapsed. I rushed to her side, but it wasn't needed. She was only sleeping. I sighed with relief, "Leader-sama would kill me if I let the Shichibi die."

I searched for Deidara and Tobi's chakra…They weren't in battle anymore and they were headed my way. I smiled to myself, *_I knew they wouldn't be long._*

I picked Fuu up and began to make my way to the meeting point.


	31. Ch 31: Relationships

"Hey Tsubaki, how'd it go, un?" I heard Deidara call out from behind me. Tobi followed close behind him.

"I ran into that jonin on the way, but I took care of her. She won't be following us back." I didn't think it was the right time to tell them about Yuru; at least, not yet.

Tobi walked next to me, "I can't believe the Hokage was dumb enough to send Chunin to watch the jinchuuriki!" Tobi laughed out loud, "How dim can they get?"

Deidara smirked, "This just proves how little men they have available at the moment, un. They didn't even send any Anbu, un!"

I ignored the fact that Deidara was actually wrong about that last part. "How much further do you think it is, Deidara-kun?" I asked him.

"It's probably just a few more hours, un. Then we'll have to work on sealing this thing for three whole days…What a pain, un."

The sealing was going to be the worst part of the entire mission. I was sure I have enough chakra for it, but it would still be exhausting. "Why does it always take so long to seal the jinchuuriki, Deidara-kun?" I asked him.

"Well, it's obviously a lot of chakra to store, un. And," he said, "we're lucky it only takes that long to store with the amount of members we have at the moment, un. If we lose anyone else it could be a serious problem."

I nodded my head, "Makes sense."

We finally made it to the cave we were sealing the jinchuuriki in. It wasn't anything special on the outside, just a large cave. It wasn't that special on the inside either, except for Leader-sama's hologram waiting for us.

"You three are right on schedule. Will the jinchuuriki be able to escape?" Leader asked me.

"I've made sure that she won't be able to move once she wakes up, sir," I told him.

"Are you sure? She has no injuries, so escape is possible. If she wakes up you'll be the only one allowed to intervene, Tsubaki," He explained.

"I understand, Leader-sama."

"By the way," Leader-sama asked me, "how did you manage to capture her without injuries?"

I sighed, "The Konaha ninja assigned to the Shichibi weren't exactly qualified for their mission."

"I see…" his expression didn't change at all. "Let's go ahead and assemble." Leader-sama summoned the giant King of Hell statue, and the other's came shortly after he did so. Deidara, Tobi, and me leapt to our appropriate places.

"Let us begin," Leader-sama ordered us.

#############

Yuru walked towards the three girls who lay on the forest floor, bleeding. He had known that they fought the Akatsuki, and was sickened at how poorly they had fared. He almost wanted to leave them there, but he knew he couldn't do that.

A med-nin leaped from behind him and began to tend to the short one's injuries. Yuru only remembered these three from his graduating class, but that was it. "I wonder if Tsubaki remembers these three?" he thought to himself for a moment.

"How will they fare?" Yuru asked the female med-nin.

She sighed, "The two tan ones should be fine, but the Yakamanka girl…well, I'm not so sure." She looked very concerned.

"I can see she lost an eye, but shouldn't that be an easy enough fix? Her injuries past that aren't near as serious as the other two," Yuru said.

The med-nin scoffed, "You must not have looked at her up close. She's suffering from serious internal bleeding and lacerations. I'm surprised she's even still alive."

Yuru walked over to see this for himself. The med-nin was right, she had small bruises scattered across her body, but that wasn't what bothered him. "She looks like she saw the friggin' Uchiha massacre. Any idea what happened to her?"

"Not exactly, but I my guess is that she was put in one heck of a genjutsu," the med-nin answered.

"Then how do you explain the eye?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'm sure these two can answer your questions when they wake up," she answered.

"Fine, I'll wait on them." Yuru said. He turned around and let the woman work, occasionally thinking about other things until Mari came.

"Hey Yuru- What's up?" Mari said, her companion Akane following close behind her.

Yuru smiled, "Nothing, just waiting for her to finish healing the chunin." He wasn't completely sure what his feelings for Mari were. Sometimes he found her to be dead weight but at times like this…he might have actually felt like there was something there. He didn't really know. Sometimes he had felt similar feelings with Sango, but they were always so short lived.

"Hey, do you think you want to go back to the inn?" Mari asked him.

Yuru shrugged, "I don't know, what about those chunin?"

Mari nudged him in the shoulder, "Come on~ can't you just have them come to the hotel?"

"I didn't think about that. Alright, I'll go with you, Mari," he turned to the med-nin, "Is that alright with you?"

The med-nin nodded, "Yes that should be fine."

The two Anbu walked back to their room, but Yuru thought he heard the med-nin say something like, "I never thought he was a romantic!"

#####

"Hey Yuru," Mari began, "did you really kill Sango?"

Yuru sighed, "I already told you it was that traitor, Takishira. I didn't do anything to her."

"Yeah…but you were still pretty mean to her weren't ya'?" Mari replied.

"I didn't tell her anything that wasn't true. Besides, if she could've figured that out on her own, then she wasn't worth my time," Yuru said coolly.

"You can be so mean. Where are you going to live anyway? She paid for your apartment," Mari pointed out.

Yuru smirked, coming in close to Mari. "I could always live with you. I'm sure a pretty girl like you could find a big enough place."

Mari blushed, "You know my parents wouldn't let me do that."

"Since when has that mattered? Your parents hate me," Yuru said jokingly.

Mari laughed, "I don't get why. You're really cute, and you're nice when no one's around. They just don't get it…"

"Don't worry, I understand just fine Mari…" Yuru said, closing in for a kiss. Mari followed through with it.

Yuru knew Mari was useful to him. She frequently bailed him out of trouble, and even better…Mari had no objection to his "behavior" unlike Sango did. He was convinced if he had to go rogue she'd go with him. And besides all of that…she was the better kisser.


	32. Ch 32: Plan

Sango lay on the cool forest floor, confused, aching and dizzy. She had absolutely no idea what had happened. *_Let's see…I was fighting that Akatsuki girl…and then I…What happened then?_* Her head felt heavy. *_…And then……?_* I almost hurt to remember these things. *…_And then he showed up and he-He let her get away! And then that jinchuuriki girl healed my wounds……_* Her thigh burned as she tried to stand up. *_Most of them..._*

The sun seemed to be out, but Sango couldn't see exactly were it was through the trees. She felt like she'd been asleep for awhile, and knowing Yuru he'd go tell everything to that damn mutt, Mari. She had wondered if they were together, but after what he said, it seemed pretty damn obvious who he was currently with. Sango clenched her fist, wanting so badly to rip their throats out.

So why were there tears running down her cheeks?

She started crying again. "W-what am I supposed to do now?" she asked herself out loud. She hated doing this, it made her feel defenseless. But what could she do?

The idea that came to her made her want to vomit…but so did having to work anywhere near Yuru and Mari. If she got to Takishira before Yuru, then she could help her win…or find a way to stop the whole fight in the first place. If she did this, she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to Konaha. The entire idea of willingly going to the Akatsuki was the most disgusting act of betrayal a ninja could commit. But this was her best option…she felt completely certain about it. She looked down at were the Akatsuki had left. There was a faint trail of melting ice in the direction Tsubaki had left (Sango was pretty surprised that the ice hadn't completely melted yet). She stood up and began to follow it.

*_Yuru…I'm coming for you!_*

#####

The sealing, so far was going well. The jinchuuriki hadn't woken up yet, and nobody was having any problems. But that sure as hell didn't mean it wasn't difficult. It had only been a day and a half, and my body was already nearing its limits. My hands were shaking, and I could feel my reserve chakra flowing throughout my veins. I wasn't sure if I could keep it up for too much longer. My guess was that I'd used a quarter of my reserves. I don't think I had ever gone that far in an actual battle before. I just hoped that the others had enough chakra to back me up if I couldn't make it. I'm sure Deidara would back me up if that happened…

I looked over at Deidara, he wasn't even breaking a sweat but he did look somewhat tired. When I looked around, I noticed that everyone (as far I could tell from the holograms) were either in the same situation, or better. I sighed, *_That's great…and I thought I had actually gotten stronger……._*

I wonder if I would go to fight Yuru. Part of me didn't want to deal with him, and part of me wanted to fight him with everything I had. I wanted to fight him more and more as time wore on…I could almost see his face as he lost to me. Focusing on that helped keep me awake. I smiled to myself, *_I hope you won't mind a few scars, Yuru…If you're lucky._*

OMAKE~

Tobi_ "Hiya green-chan!"

1_ "Oh, morning Tobi. What is it?"

Tobi_ "What are getting the OC's for Christmas?"

1_ "I don't know yet; maybe a gift card or something?"

Tobi_ "It looks like the readers really hate Yuru-san!"

1_ "I know, not that I'm really **that** surprised about it."

Tobi_ "You don't think they'll do anything too drastic, do you?"

1_ "Well…I don't think they will…"

ELSEWHERE~

Yuru_ *reading a hentai* "………"

Hotaru_ *kicks him from behind* "THAT'S FOR SANGO, MANBITCH!!!" *runs away*

Yuru_ *face first on the floor* "……wtf?"

END~~:D

_Note:_ I used Hotaru just because my friend really likes her character for some reason. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (of kicking Yuru's face in D)!


	33. Ch 33: Memories

It had been three days, counting today. The shichibi was almost sealed, and I was glad. I felt like I was ready to pass out. How much longer could it be? The eye on the sealing statue began to completely form, and the stream of chakra coming from her eyes and mouth was slowly fading away. And then, it stopped completely. The eye was completely formed now, and the all of the eyes closed. I looked down at the jinchuuriki; she fell to the ground with a thud.

"You're all dismissed for now," Leader-sama stated, his hologram disappearing. Everyone else disappeared immediately after Leader-sama did.

Deidara looked over to me, and cracked his neck. "Man, I always get so stiff after these sealings, un. How are you holding up Tsubaki?"

I was on my knees, "…I-I'm going to need some rest, but after that I should be fine." I didn't really know how much longer I was going to last before I got anywhere, so I needed to talk fast.

"D-Deidara-kun, I have something to tell you about," I said, "You too, Tobi."

They both leaped over to my position. "What is it, un?"

"That jonin wasn't the only ninja I met when I was carrying the Shichibi…I met an old teammate," I said quietly. "He wanted us to fight, but I knew I couldn't risk the jinchuuriki getting hurt. So he gave me six days to prepare for it. Of course, I only have three days by now…" I sighed, "I don't know what to do…"

They both looked at me calmly. "I don't really see what harm it could do, un. How bad could one guy be?"

"I'm not sure, he looked like he was in Anbu," I told Deidara.

Deidara chuckled, "So? You've taken down an Anbu before, un."

I shook my head, "I had your help, and not only that, it was a sneak attack. He's had time to plan for this."

"All that means is that it might actually take effort," Tobi said offhandedly, "You'll be fine as long as you get some rest."

I nodded, "You're right, thanks for listening."

"Come on," Deidara said as he lifted me off my feet (he was stronger than I thought), "you need some sleep, un."

#####

Yuru sat himself upright from the bed he had been laying on. "Might as well get some air," he thought. He picked up a piece of scrap paper and scribbled a note for Mari.

The forest was cool and shaded, which put Yuru in a pretty good mood; though he wasn't the type to be all sunshine and rainbows when he was in a good mood. It just meant he could forget about most things that pissed him off, like those dumbasses in the room next to his that kept having ridiculously loud conversations when he wanted to sleep. Didn't they know when normal people slept? Three in the morning is just a little too late when you're trying to sleep.

Yuru remembered playing ninja in the forest with Miziro when they were still academy students. He smiled to himself; Miziro was almost like a big brother to him, even though they were the same age. Yuru remembered how mad he was when Tsubaki was teamed up with them, and how mad she was too. She had wanted to be in a team with at least some other girl, and an all boys team made her fighting mad. Yuru chuckled to himself, "She slapped me first time we officially met."

She never hit Miziro, though. She always liked him a lot. "Well, Miziro wasn't such an immature asshole." He thought, "I started half of our fights."

He turned around and stabbed his katana into the nearest tree, his fist shaking. "…Damnit…why couldn't stop him?!" he wanted to cry, but no tears came. "…Miziro you stupid bastard…You didn't have to die…Y-you didn't have to die!" He sunk to his knees.

"Why did you have to die…?"


	34. Ch 34: Genuine

"Are you ready yet, Tsubaki-chan?" Tobi asked me, "I'm getting bored…" He was hanging on a tree with his legs, trying to get rid of pent up energy. Tobi didn't seem to handle staying still very well, but it's not like this surprised me. I was sure having to stand still for three days prior didn't help him much.

Deidara immediately snapped at Tobi, "You don't have to ask her every ten minutes, un! She'll be ready when she says she's ready!" We'd been resting under a large tree just outside of our temporary base (aka, that giant cave). I wasn't exactly sure how long we had been there, since I had been asleep for awhile. My best guess would be that we'd been there for a day.

I pushed myself upright, "Deidara-kun?"

He immediately turned towards me, "What is it, un?"

"How long do you think it'll take to get to Yuru from here?" I asked him.

Deidara laid his hand on my shoulder, "It'll take a half a day, un. You just need to rest." He looked genuinely concerned, so I laid back down.

But then I heard something……It was a person, definitely a ninja. Deidara and Tobi heard it too, and immediately stood crouched down, with kunai drawn. I stood up and drew mine as fast as I could, but I was still pretty weak. I guess my extra chakra doesn't replenish itself as quick as my usual chakra. This was the first time that I'd ever used all of it up.

A kunai flew towards Deidara, but he blocked it effortlessly. Tobi threw his towards the ninja's position, but the ninja leaped away. The ninja landed in front of us, but…the ninja stayed in a crouched position, almost like the ninja was bowing. But why?

It all began to make sense when I finally noticed who the ninja was.

"Takishira-san, please hear me out. I'm not here to fight you or your teammates. I-I'm here to help you," she explained to us. Tobi stepped down, but Deidara stayed on guard.

"Tsubaki, do you know this girl, un?" Deidara asked me.

I nodded, "She's that jonin I met on the way to base. I-…"

"I thought you said you took care of her, un!" Deidara said angrily. "We could've gotten in a lot of trouble for that Tsubaki!"

"It wasn't my idea! Fuu wanted to heal her wounds, it's not like I did it! Besides, there was no way she would've been a threat in her condition. I didn't threaten our mission," I told him.

"Do you honestly think Leader-sama cares about that? He doesn't care about us; he sees us as tools and nothing else, un. Leader isn't going to spare some chunin that happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time!" he snapped.

Everyone went silent. Sango broke the silence, "May I continue?" Deidara nodded a silent yes. "I'm willing to help you take down Yuru. I'll do whatever you ask of me, I promise."

"Wouldn't you be betraying your home village?" Tobi asked her. "He is one of your own."

Sango glared at him, "I don't have anything left now. All I want is for Yuru to get what he deserves," she removed her headband and slashed the metal. "And I'll do anything for that to happen."

I could tell she was dead serious about this; she uttered every word confidently, and didn't show any sign of uncertainty. She was being completely genuine with us.

"You can work with us. So, do you have a plan Miyuki-san?" I said.

Sango smirked, "Don't be so formal. Just call me Sango, got it?"


	35. Ch 35: Trick

I stood there in the clearing, waiting for Yuru to come. Deidara, Tobi, and Sango were spread apart in the trees, ready to help when I needed it. That wasn't going to happen anytime soon, though. I planned to get this done quickly.

Yuru came just when I was starting to wonder if he was planning to ambush me. "So you actually came, Tsubaki. What a drag, I was looking forward to hunting you down," he had a twisted look in his eye as he spoke to me.

"Let's get this over with, Yuru," I said, trying to show as little emotion as possible. I didn't want to give him any signs of weakness.

He smirked, "Your act isn't fooling me one bit, Tsubaki. I can see how nervous you are," He pointed at my hands; they were visibly shaking. "Well…either that or whatever you had to do to finish your mission took a lot out of you. It better not make things too boring for me Tsubaki." He slowly drew one of his swords.

He came at me much faster than I expected. I ducked under his sword as quick as I could, but he nicked my shoulder. I quickly sent a pillar of ice at him, its point aimed for his stomach. He quickly drew his other sword and slashed the pillar in half. I wasn't sure how he was able to break my ice so easily, but I sent more spikes at him from the ones he had already broken. His swords were a blur as the cut down all of my attacks. He seemed amused with himself.

"How is he doing it?!" I thought to myself angrily, "What is he doing different from all the others I've fought?" I sent more spikes at him and looked at him closely to see how he was fighting. He slashed each cleanly in half rapidly, until none were left standing. I kept sending spikes at him, and watching every one of his movements. But…he moved like any other anbu. He was using basic taijutsu however he was good at it.

I was about to send more spikes at him, but he sliced off the points on all of them. Yuru leapt onto the ice, and rushed towards me! I tried to put up a barrier, but he quickly shattered it with his blade. He followed through with his other sword, but by some crazy chance I dodged his sword completely.

"You're getting a bit sluggish aren't you, Yuru?" I taunted.

He smiled, "Take another look at yourself." A pain shot through my stomach. It was bleeding! I looked back up at him; he was grinning wildly. "I'm obviously not telling you how I'm doing this, but I'll at least let you know this isn't a genjutsu." He didn't have to tell me that. Our entire team had no skills in genjutsu whatsoever. Team Gensai was a ninjutsu heavy squad. Yuru wasn't even able to break a basic genjutsu back then.

"Hyouton: Artic Prison!" The ice covered his legs, pinning him to the ground. This was my chance! "Shimo Otto-!" I felt a blade pierce through my stomach, but how?! I looked down, and it wasn't steel that had pierced me, it was nothing but chakra!

"Crap, I didn't want to expose my trick just yet. But oh well, it's not going to make any difference. I've got you right where I want you!" He shattered the ice around his legs and charged at me with his other sword.

"DIE, TRAITOR!!"


	36. Ch 36: Mist

Yuru looked manic as he charged me. I couldn't move away without slitting open half my gut. Chakra was just as sharp as any other blade, and couldn't be broken. I tried to put up a shield, but his blade was disrupting my chakra flow!

I couldn't do anything safely now, he was only inches away. I punched him in the jaw, which stopped him. I tore out the blade from my stomach, leaving my hand bloody. I felt a bit dizzy, but I knew I had to hold out just a little longer…

"Where did you get the chakra blades?" I asked, "They don't make those for any body, you know."

"Who cares, they're mine now," He probably stole them. "Where have you seen chakra metal before?"

Good, he seems to be playing along. "I'd heard of it from others, I believe one of the sensei's owned a pair of blades made of it."

He picked up his other sword, "I remember hearing that, too. Why so talkative?"

Damnit, he was getting suspicious. "N-no reason." Talking wasn't going to get me anywhere; he knew my game. I just had to make things harder for him. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!" The entire field became covered in a very deep mist. "Let's see how you do in this!" I shouted, even thought _I _wasn't sure how I'd fare. This was my first time using the jutsu in battle.

I quietly jumped to a nearby tree, and began searching for him. He hadn't moved an inch, and was very clearly on guard. I smiled to myself, because I had major advantages right now. I silently made my hand signs, "_Hyouton: Arctic Spear!" _I sent a few spikes at him, and two of them hit him. He still looked like he could fight, though. "So, he can still dodge but this is defiantly slowing him down." I thought. "Good, it's working." I sent more spikes after him, one after the other. He was getting better at dodging, but his wounds were getting to him.

"Time to end this." Five more spikes went at him, so he back flipped away from them landing on a small patch of ice. He was exactly were I wanted him. The ice crawled upwards, completely covering his legs. Now was my chance! "Shimo Ottome!" The spikes, sending him to the ground, crushed his legs. He tried to get back up, but he couldn't.

I jumped down in front of him. After all, what could he do? "Anything you feel like saying right now, Yuru?" I teased.

He smiled manically, " Katon: Release…Fenikkusu" His chakra practically exploded, blowing away most of the mist. It was unbearably hot all around him, like you would burn at any minute. What was going on?! His wounds healed almost instantly, allowing him to stand. The chakra surrounded him, forming wings.

"This is my trump card…like a phoenix I am 'reborn' but it costs me dearly. Tsubaki, I will kill you in my final moments." He drew his swords. "Now, prepare yourself!"


	37. Ch 37: Wrath of the Lost

"A phoenix?" I scoffed, "How cheesy."

Yuru smirked, "I guess I was being too theatrical," he sighed as he drew his blades. "I guess I'll just go on and show you why you shouldn't be making small talk." His blades became engulfed in his burning chakra, almost seeming as if there was no blade left.

He charged me head on, his blazing red wings scorching the nearby trees and brush. I sent up a thick ice barrier and ran away as fast as I could. I glanced behind me; the barrier melted away without Yuru even breaking his stride.

I swore under my breath. If my barrier couldn't make it in that kind of heat, none of my other attacks could touch him. I was completely defenseless! "Bushin no Jutsu," I muttered, summoning a clone to my side. "We need help, _fast_," I told my clone. She nodded, and dashed away.

I whipped myself around and threw a shureiken at Yuru, only for him to block it effortlessly with his sword. I swore again; could **anything** get past him?

And then the idea hit me. I drew some kunai, throwing them in his direction. Again, he blocked easily. He shook his head in disappointment, "Really now, I expected more from you. You're nothing without your precious bloodline!"

"Don't ever underestimate the Akatsuki, Yuru!" I shouted, throwing a lone kunai at him. He readied his sword to block, but it passed through one of his wings and into a nearby tree.

He looked confused for a moment, and laughed, "How sad! You're so scared of me you can't even aim straight!"

I smiled and put up a barrier around myself. Yuru turned back at the kunai, eyes wide with shock at the detail he failed to notice.

The kunai had a paper bomb wrapped around its handle.

He attempted to run, but the bomb ignited before he could do a thing. The blast sent him flying, bits of wood and leaves spraying the area. He slammed back first into a tree, knocking the breath out of him.

I put down the barrier, and turned in Yuru's direction. He was on his knees, gasping for breath. I smiled, "What was that about my aim, Yuru?" He glared at me, unable to catch his breath to speak. I took my last kunai from my pouch, and held it to his throat. "Goodbye, Yuru."

He gasped out a few words, but I had no idea what he was saying. "Speak up, these are your last words," I said forcefully.

He smirked, "I said… You're a complete idiot, Tsubaki." His wings shrunk down to around the size of my hand. "Nensho Fenikkusu-Shin!" The wings expanded, immediately swallowing everything around us in its white-hot flame.

All I could see is fire. I couldn't scream or breath, or my insides would turn to ash. I couldn't move, as my skin might crumble away. I couldn't do anything to help myself. All I could do to numb the pain was think about him… How gently he talked to me, and me alone… How he wrapped his arms around me that night…

Then I remembered… our gifts to each other; those little doves…

I smiled, "_He's been right here with me… this entire time._"

My entire body ached, but for some reason… I didn't care. I didn't care about that the flames had left, or about the three figures looking down on me. All that mattered was Deidara was there for me, no matter what. I felt one of the figures lift me off the ground, making every nerve in my body scream in protest.

My head felt heavy… and everything was so fuzzy… I could hear people shouting at each other. I couldn't make out anything they were saying… and the world around me slowly faded into darkness.


	38. Ch 38: Envy of the Forgotten

Deidara stood on the scorched dirt, staring down at his charred squad mate. He felt sick just looking at her. Her legs were burnt down to the muscle, her skirt and shorts all but gone. Her stomach was bleeding from a stab wound, along with her left hand, luckily her burns had seemed to delay the bleeding.

Thankfully, her face and neck were hadn't been burnt nearly as badly as the rest of her. Deidara thanked whatever god he thought was still listening when he saw the shaky up and down movements of her chest.

She was still alive. And better yet, Deidara knew enough about burns to know she would make it. He very carefully picked her up, knowing just how much it probably hurt. Deidara held her against his chest, and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry… I should've come sooner, un. Just hang on as long as you can, Tsubaki. We can help you as soon as we return to the base, un."

Deidara turned around towards Tobi and the leaf-girl. "S-she can make it. We just need to get her help soon, un," He said, attempting to steady his composure. He looked over to the Anbu boy, who's back was burnt down to the bone in some places.

Deidara's hands shivered with rage; he wanted him to die in so many horrible ways it would've had Hidan surprised. "Is he dead…?"

Sango rolled Yuru onto his back, making him convulse with pain. She looked down at him with apathy, "He will be soon enough… The bastard's chakra is practically gone by now." She leaned down towards Yuru, and whispered in his ear, "You deserved what you got, Yuru. Thank the demons who torture you in hell for me."

She walked away from him, and went to an unconscious Tsubaki. "I can carry her if you want me too," she offered.

Deidara set Tsubaki on the ground, placing his hand into his clay pouch. He made large mount, in the form of a hawk. He then picked up Tsubaki's red body, and leaped onto the hawk's clay back. "If you want to help, then get on, un." Sango nodded and leaped on, sitting behind Deidara.

He turned to Tobi, who had been motionlessly staring at Yuru the entire time. "Tobi! Come on, un!"

"I'll wait so we'll have an excuse for Zetsu," Tobi said flatly.

Deidara nodded. "Fine, but you better make a damn good excuse!" He exclaimed as he took off into the air.

Tobi looked down at the gasping, burnt, half-alive husk of a boy that was Yuru. He leaned down; his face inches from Yuru's. "Well, well, you've gotten yourself in some deep trouble, haven't you?" Tobi said merrily. "What a shame. Master would've let you join for sure… You're just the right type too…"

Yuru was getting very, very annoyed at Tobi's antics, and managed to rasp "…S-shut…the f*ck…up…!"

Tobi shook his head; "You really can't do too much to back that up right now. Besides, you poor friend Miziro-kun wouldn't like that sort of language would he?"

Yuru's eyes widened, "H-how do you…?"

Tobi chuckled, "I learned a lot about you from Tsubaki… Even though she doesn't exactly know that…"

"…? W-what are y-"

Tobi looked straight into his eyes. "That isn't for you to know," he snarled, his tone very abruptly serious. "… You see, I've actually taken a liking to Tsubaki-chan. After all, she's a very sweet girl. And I don't appreciate you trying to burn her to death. You've put me in a bad mood…" Tobi's eye swirled, turning a deep shade of red. "You wouldn't like to be on an Uchiha's bad side, as you'll soon know well enough…"

Yuru's heart pounded against his chest as he had realized what he had gotten into. Somehow Hell didn't look so bad anymore...


End file.
